From the Ground Up
by fioreofthemarch
Summary: No kingdom. No allies. No guide. Zelda and Link struggle to find their feet in a Hyrule that has all but forgotten them. With sinister forces leaping at the power vacuum left by Ganon and an already fragile Hyrule teetering on the edge of a civil war, the pair must forge new paths in order to save both their kingdom, and their chance to rebuild it. Post-BOTW Zelink
1. Guardian

**Hi everyone!**

 **This work is an attempt to create a realistic portrait of Hyrule post-Breath of the Wild. It is quite dark and plot-focused, with a lot of time spent on Link and Zelda's psyche as they begin to rebuild. It is also very canon-compliant, and references a lot of in-game locations, items and tidbits, as well as the wider TLOZ lore and includes a number of minor OCs. So while Link and Zelda are the main focus, the world of Hyrule in BOTW plays a big role.**

 **I really hope you enjoy this fic! It should be quite long and is constantly evolving, so any and all feedback is welcome!**

 **You can follow me on Tumblr for regular updates on this fic and also some Chapter Notes which I have started posting.**

 **A small content warning: this work features character death, fight scenes with minor violence and allusions to sexual assault.**

* * *

Part One: Education

 _Link. Please, hurry._

That was the name she gave him; that was the mission she assigned him.

In the year that followed, battling Blight and learning once more what living was, Link carried her voice with him. Like a shell from the beach, iridescent, changing in the light, contours and chips doled out by time; he took it and held it close. In quiet moments he would seek it out – bring it forth from the crevices and hidden places he'd made. He'd find it and make it his compass. A lighthouse, guiding him ever closer, to a home, to a new beginning. Link wasn't sure.

But it was always there. When the ground at his feet fell away, when the sky sloughed down. when the storms racked him and when the winds rattled his bones. Her voice and her face. Photos on a strange slate. Places where they had once been. All of it, but most of all the voice. It kept him functional, alive. That sweet, shining voice.

But he wasn't ready to hear it, no. Not to truly hear it. It was not a blow he could brace for, his silence not strong enough of a shield. Because, Goddesses, she was real, _so real_ , where everything else was just a memory or a dream.

And so when she turned; when she smiled; when she spoke - he froze.

When she asked the question, the _first_ question – he fell silent.

 _Do you really remember me?_

And he had nothing to give in return.

* * *

In the far west the Sun had almost set, and the sapphire-lit Sheikah Towers dotted across Hyrule were shining like stars. From the top of Central Tower, it seemed the entire kingdom was visible; from the north, where Death Mountain pulsated with heat, to the south the south, where a gargantuan sandstorm raged across the sands of the Gerudo Desert. At the edge of Hyrule Field, just to the northwest, stood _her_ castle, now little more than an empty shell. Flanked by the five monolithic columns and seeping with the remaining pools of Malice, it was now it's own blight on the landscape. The presence of the gurgling purple ooze made one thing clear: sealed though he may be, Ganon's corruption still marred the land.

In moments like these, Princess Zelda could not tell dream from waking. Sunlight seemed to burn brighter for her now, and darkness seemed to creep deeper into her core. Here, the whole world felt as though it were held still under her palm, and all the ghosts she had gathered were now returned to her, whispering to her, words unbidden and uninvited. Words of failure, words of regret.

 _You are here_ , Zelda told herself. _You are alive. Let the dead rest_.

Words of wisdom, wisdom being the one thing Zelda felt she had been born with, where everything _else_ was lacking. Climbing Central Tower, however? Perhaps not so wise.

"Are you sure? The platform is a long way up," Link cautioned, peering up at the lofty Shiekah Tower. It was all he said; a concerned but polite warning. His eyes said the rest, in that strangely expressive that they were now. Zelda saw his fear, but would not relent.

"I must see what remains of this kingdom," she had told him, marching determinedly towards the tower base. He need not fear for her, not after what they'd been through only days prior. Hand over hand, foothold to foothold, she and Link began to climb.

An hour later, Princess Zelda collapsed in an exhausted heap onto the cool stone of the tower platform.

"I'm now glad," she had said through panting breaths, as Link helped her back to her feet. "That _you huff_ were the one-the one activating all these _huff huff_ and not me."

Link had flashed her a wry smile. "No problem, Princess," he'd said, handing her his water skin, and she'd been so flushed and so embarrassed at her dismal display that she'd refused to take it.

 _No problem,_ Zelda thought glumly as she now gazed down on Hyrule Field. His quest to destroy Ganon had taken him almost a year, and not once had it seemed like _no problem_. At least not from her vantage point. Zelda had watched over him as best as she could, but her pilgrimage in Hyrule Castle had placed her in a state of being that felt somewhat like being submerged, enveloped by the immensity of her struggle against that foul beast. Already her memories of those one hundred and one years were fading. Perhaps it was for the best.

But to Link, Zelda pondered, it had been no time at all. One single year, against her one hundred and eighteen. Had he...had he really forgotten so much of it?

The eponymous Knight now stood guard behind her, his Master Sword at his back and Hylian shield at the ready, in the unlikely event that anything sinister could reach them atop Central Tower. He assumed the position like it was an instinct. Perhaps it _was_ an instinct, Zelda mused. One hundred years later, just two kids alone in the world, what else did either of them have but their instincts? Instincts to keep them alive; instincts to move them forward.

Zelda's instincts told her to go to Zora's Domain. They told her to seek out the Divine Beast that lived there, to reconnect with the only group that might remember her, and to just start on some kind of _return_. Her instincts gave her little more than that. But it was a start. Living - truly living - was so new to her now. Words written in her blood, habits that ran through her veins, the sun and wind on her skin, telling her with every sensation that she was real again...they were all she had.

The last rays of sun slipped beneath the western mountains of the Tabantha Frontier, and Hyrule was blanketed in darkness. It was a moonless night: dark, and lonely, and cold. Zelda peered back the Knight behind her. Perhaps instincts were not _all_ she had.

"Well, judging by my performance earlier, I don't think we're in a position to climb down this tower until sunrise," Zelda announced. Link turned his head slightly to the side, a slender ear cocked in her direction. With a nod, he began preparing their things, coaxing up a small fire for their dinner. Roasted mushrooms again; neither Link nor Zelda were comfortable passing through towns yet, so arrows were rare, and game rarer.

Zelda sat by the fire, taking a mushroom skewer in hand, and looked up to see that he had re-assumed his lookout. His whole body was tense, his muscles knotted as if in preparation for an ambush.

"Afraid of flying moblins?" Zelda teased, wishing Link would relax. His caution was doing nothing to ease her nerves.

"I've heard rumours of winged Lizalfos before," Link returned dryly.

Zelda snorted, embarrassing herself, and said nothing in reply. She felt her cheeks go red. _Don't be a fool, it's just Link_ , she told herself, feeling no better. After another few minutes Link must have felt that it was safe, for he turned and sat down around their little camp at last, grabbing a few skewers of now charred mushrooms to eat.

"You really don't need to worry. I'm sure that anything that manages to climb up here will be just as tired as I was..." her voice trailed off as she realised she was rambling. "I'll need to get some climbing gear like you…."

Link didn't look up from his meal, and Zelda felt a moment of clarity. "You were looking towards Zora's Domain, weren't you?"

That made him pause. He swallowed, and briefly met her eyes before looking away.

"It's a dangerous path," he said, frowning. "I just don't know how to get you there safe-"

Zelda huffed. "I'm more than capable of looking after myself."

"Are you?" Link shot back, brightening with regret the moment the words left his lips. "Princess-" he began.

"Don't."

"I spoke out of turn-"

" _Enough!"_

Silence fell, save for the whistle of the wind through the tower lookout. The pair spoke not another word as they ate, doused their fire, and retired to their bedrolls, and yet Zelda simmered with rage for what little remained of the evening. She lay seething on her bedroll long after Link had fallen asleep, fighting the memory that came back to her with a vengeful clarity.

They had just left Hyrule Castle a few days prior, carrying what little they could take from the ruins. Link directed them through Central Hyrule, avoiding the paths and stables to keep them both out of sight. For a day or so they moved slowly across Hyrule Field while Zelda adjusted to mundane but now novel rituals of eating, sleeping and speaking. Those days after the Calamity's defeat had been like a waking dream, characterised by long blackouts and a lingering sense of disconnection. She would be sitting atop her horse, following slowly behind Link, and then next she would be by the fire gazing unblinkingly at the flames, and then next lying in her bedroll, waiting restless for sleep to take her. To his credit, the knight did not overwhelm her with prodding questions about her wellbeing, but his (unsurprisingly) stoic personality did little to help her feel welcome. _But you are here_ , she would think when she looked at him. We _are here, once again…._

It wasn't until the second day that Zelda stumbled. Her appetite was yet to fully come back, and the lack of food made her weary. After a day's ride towards Central Tower under the bright late-summer sun - little more than a handful of mushrooms and some thin strips of cured meat to keep her going - the exhaustion of living finally caught up with her. Absent-mindedly she lead her horse off the rough gravel trail, seemingly quiet enough for Link not to notice. The sun was in her eyes, the afternoon breeze battering her ears, and the sounds and sights of the darkness that had enveloped her for so long came rushing back like a wave to shore. It was too much. It was too bright. Zelda shrieked, and then just like that...she fell...

Whatever had happened, she woke by the fire again, her left arm throbbing. The elbow was bruised, and had been braced with some deftly tied bandages. They were camped at the base of Central Tower, the unblinking eyes of the now-deactivated Guardians watching over them with an eerie peacefulness.

That was almost two days ago now, and still every mention of Zelda's well-being or Link's duty as her guard would cause them both to stiffen and close up. Link refused to move on at least until he was sure Zelda had regained her strength, and Zelda, admittedly, refused to talk about it.

This was the first time he'd lashed out though. And the first time she'd lashed back. Zelda felt her stomach rumble. It would be nice once they arrived at Zora's Domain and could have something more than the food they found in the wilds. It would be nice to just rest. To sleep-properly-and not wake in fear that she was trapped inside Hyrule Castle again, with decades of prayer and patience ahead of her. But that night, as with all the others so far, was plagued with cruel nightmares and sleepless hours, until finally the sun rose again.

As per usual, Zelda was the first to speak. It was the words that were novel.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, as they began to pack up their belongings. At first, she thought things might be as they were before; with Link saying _nothing_.

"I understand," he said instead. He fetched her pack, helping her strap it to her back. "I'm ready to go when you are, Princess."

 _Am I ready?_ Zelda took one last look over the landscape before they climbed down the tower. Hyrule Field gave way to the mountains beyond, the rivers and ponds glistening in shimmering reds and ambers as the sun peeked out over the eastern horizon, all of it bearing the scars of the Calamity. To the south she saw that the sandstorm was even greater in size. Wherever Zelda looked, not a soul was in sight. Hyrule was still asleep.

 _My kingdom_ , she thought. _Just as empty and broken as I am._

* * *

Princess' Zelda's plan was this; they would travel first to Zora's Domain to enact a tri-pronged plan: pay respects to King Dorephan, assert her presence in the world, and check on Divine Beast Vah Ruta. It seemed that her powers, while diminished, were still present, she knew that much by the muted gold mark on her hand, in the shape of three triangles. If there was a way to put this _sealing power_ to use, then she would find it.

"I can take you to Kakariko Village, as well," Link offered, pointing to the hidden little town on the map in the Sheikah Slate. "It'd only be a day's travel."

Zelda shivered. "One thing at a time," she told him, trying her best to feel the words as she spoke them, and he didn't ask about it again after that.

Regardless of _where_ , both Link and Zelda wished to reach shelter and civilisation before too long. Link boarded their horses at the Wetlands Stable in Lanayru, and led them on a shortcut through through the Lanayru Wetlands. They would rejoin the road at the mouth of the Zora River, and make the winding climb up to the sheltered Zora's Domain. To both Link and Zelda's relief, their travels to the Domain were relatively easy-going; they met little interference beyond a fallen log or some particularly slippery mud.

"Must be the cold air," Zelda mused, talking more to herself than Link. "It'll be Summer's End soon, you can see the way the leaves are changing. I suppose it would make sense if creatures not adapted to the cooler weather would adopt a hibernation cycle."

"Calamity Ganon," Link said suddenly, as if materializing abruptly. He'd been so quiet, so careful in even his movements that sometimes Zelda simply forgot he was there.

"W-what?"

"He's dead. So there's not as many of the monsters."

"R-right. Of course. That would be a more apt explanation," Zelda wrapped her arms around herself. "It's still a bit chilly."

"Are you cold, Princess-uh, I mean-Zelda?" Link corrected himself. She had asked him not to call her that. It simply didn't feel right, not anymore.

"No, Link, thank you," Zelda returned with a half-smile. "But I will tell you when I am."

Link didn't smile back, much less meet her sideways glance at him. _At least things are civil,_ Zelda thought with an inward sigh, _if a little awkward_.

Sometimes in the way Link spoke to her, or looked at her, it seemed that he saw only a stranger and _not_...not what she had been. While the hundred year vigil had dulled Zelda's own memories, at least she had them at all. In conversations they'd had, Link had explained that his was more fragmented.

"Fragmented at best.," he'd qualified.

And there were other changes too. Small things at first. Mannerisms that she had remembered differently, words here and there that she had never heard him use, a look in his eye that seemed changed.

It didn't matter. He was alive. He had come back to her. _That_ was what mattered.

They were still a day or so from Zora's Domain, and had progressed halfway through the Lanayru wetlands. Finding small refuge in the Goponga Village Ruins, they built their camp and set their fire, settling against the weathered stone. Link borrowed the Sheikah Slate from Zelda and to materialise a silver trident from its inventory - one embellished with emeralds and pearls. He waded out into the low waters, focused hard on the colourful fish that swam lazily past, and held the trident balanced to strike. There was a sudden splash, and not a minute later Link returned to their camp with wet boots and two fat Hylian Bass. Zelda caught a secretive, proud smile on his face as he approached. Another instinct, Zelda realised. Another skill that need not be remembered.

 _Perhaps now is a good time to help him,_ she thought, _to ease him back into the life he once had._

"You carry the Lightscale Trident?" Zelda asked quietly.

Link's brows furrowed, but he didn't look her way. Around them a light rain began to fall.

"It's a fine weapon," Zelda continued before he could answer, feeling foolish. Perhaps reminding Link of _her_ was not the best place to start. "There's no benefit letting it go unutilised."

Link nodded silently, his attention still focused on the bass. He cleaned the fish with a pointed Gerudo dagger, skewered the meat, and held them out over the fire.

"Did you want to talk about it?" Zelda pressed. "Before."

Link's eyes snapped up to meet hers, his face guarded. "...before?"

Zelda gulped. There was no way around it. "Before the Calamity."

Link was quiet for a long time then, and Zelda wondered if he'd even heard her. The fish were finished on the fire; Link held one out for her and they ate in silence. When he was done, he finally spoke.

WIth a small shrug he admitted, "I suppose I don't know what to ask."

"We can start small. Your Knighthood, the Kingdom, your death-"

"Start small?" Link laughed nervously.

"Uh- I mean, if you don't," Zelda spluttered. The sound of his laughter had completely thrown her, and for a second she couldn't help but laugh along with him.

"My _death_ ," Link said. "It's not exactly-"

"-a small start, no," Zelda cut in, flustered and embarrassed at her carelessness.

"I'm sorry, I'm not much help, I know."

Link shrugged again. "I don't have anyone else," he said, drawing a weak laugh from Zelda.

The rain began to heap down, and so they ducked under a ruined thatch roof, the decaying grass and hay only just enough to keep them dry. Link scrambled to gather up their belongings, and Zelda watched with dismay as their campfire was reduced to fizzling embers. There was no choice but to sit on their bedrolls and shiver as they waited out the storm. A comfortable silence fell over them then, punctuated by Zelda's idle musings on the history of Zora's Domain.

"Legend tells that Ruta was engaged to a Hylian, and some theorise it could have been the Hero of Legend himself. It seems so unlikely to me, though. And even it if were true, I suppose it never went anywhere. Funny though, a Zora Princess and a _Hylian_ , it seems so-" She was too late to catch herself, remembering at the last second how closely the story mirrored Link's. She looked over and saw him gazing with an empty expression at the waters beyond the ruins, hugging his knees to his chest. If he was crestfallen she couldn't know.

"I'm sorry, Link," she apologized, but this time he did not speak.

 _Has he had a single happy moment,_ Zelda wondered, _since I had him placed in that Shrine?_

Just as Zelda resigned to another tense evening together, Link asked, "Did you know her well?" He met her eyes, looking at her properly, for what felt like the first time in days.

Zelda felt a surge of pain in her chest. _No, but you did._ The guilt gripped her so tight that it threatened to strangle her.

"I know she cared about you," _I know she loved you_. The words were little more than a whisper. "Is this what you want to talk about?"

Link gave a little nod, though he didn't seem to relax.

Zelda tried to tell him everything that she could, though in truth she had never really spoken to Princess Mipha outside of their work with Ruta and the other champions.

"She…she loved fishing. No, that's a silly way to put it. She _excelled_ at fishing, wielding the Lightscale Trident as you do now. The Zora said she was one of their most skilled fighters, as well as being their princess. But she-I think she never wanted to fight. She was…funnily enough, she was a bit like me," Zelda caught herself laughing nervously again, feeling underneath her own awkwardness another burst of pain. She took a breath and composed herself. "She loved Ruta, she loved learning about her, but she considered her use again Ganon a last resort, I think. She told me how Ruta could be used to stabilise the weather in Lanayru. She wanted to make it safer…for all of us."

Everything ached, so rich that Princess Zelda almost wanted to savour it. Lucidity had brought with it her grief, and she tasted salt on her lips. Through it all she could only think, _I never cry, I never have_.

She felt a blossom of warmth on her shoulder; it was Link, his hand on her arm to calm her. She had forgotten what that was like - gentleness, compassion. Fighting for her own composure, Zelda wiped her eyes dry and continued to speak.

"I may not have known her very well," she concluded. "But Hyrule feels her loss, she was a rare pillar of light - they all were - and Mipha most of all would have been much needed now."

After it all, Link simply nodded, drawing his hand away. The rain had stopped. Without a word, he hopped to his feet and dusted himself off. He offered a hand to Zelda, and she took it with some hesitation.

"Thank you," he said after he pulled her up. "Really."

"It's nothing," Zelda began, dizzy from all of her thoughts. "Consider it my apology, for the way I've been. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Link smiled like he knew a secret, and began to walk down to the bank. "You don't need to apologise. It wasn't unexpected."

 _So he does remember me._

"What does that mean?" she called after him, chasing him down to the water.

"I remember your temper."

"It's not a temper," Zelda shot back as she caught up to him. He was walking quickly as if running away from a joke, and she had to jog slightly to keep pace.

"Well, I have a pretty good memory," he said coyly.

"No you don't." She gave him a playful hit on the shoulder.

"Hey!" Link broke into a run, darting back and forth. He raced along the bank, before spinning on his heel and turning to sprint across one of the submerged log bridges that snaked its way through the wetlands. Zelda bounded after him, exhilarated to feel the rush of cold air in her lungs and the pounding of blood through her veins. It made her feel young, like a child. _I am a child_ , she thought happily. She leapt to tag him on the shoulder, and raced past him with the cry of 'Your turn!'

Zelda heard Link's cry of alarm, but she did not stop. She fled across to the neighbouring island, and saw over her shoulder that Link was gaining on her, a wide smile on his lips at he chased her. She never wanted to stop running; never wanted to stop feeling as alive as she did in that moment. The sun had well set, but the silvery light from the moon filtering past the dispersing clouds above reflected brilliantly off the shallow waters. In the low light, another one of the log bridges was visible, and Zelda made to cross it. Sliding down the back, she leapt onto the bridge, splashing into the cool waters.

And that was when she saw it.

The gargantuan thing was spilled out across the logs, half of its mechanical legs twisted underneath it, and the other half missing entirely. Under the moonlight its dark granite body almost seemed blue, and its singular cyclops eye gazed unblinkingly in her direction. It did not move, but it seemed alive. No, it _was_ alive. It had to be. They all were, raining fire and destruction on her home, on Hyrule.

Zelda shrieked, stumbling over backwards and falling into the water. Her head swam, the sights and sounds coming back as they had the day she'd fallen from her horse.

 _Father help me. Mother help me. It's too bright. I can't help him. I can't hold him. I can't-_

Instinct took over. Zelda raised her right hand, and just as she unleashed a surge of energy towards the Guardian, her appointed knight came into view.

* * *

Zelda gripped Link tightly as they stumbled back towards their camp. He had pulled her out of the water, and all-but carried her onto the bank. When they reached their camp, Link set another fire, sat her down beside it, and pointedly explained that the Guardian was dead - as were _all_ of the Guardians.

"How can you be sure?" Zelda demanded, unable to calm herself.

"I remember _killing_ it," Link said tersely.

There was anger in his voice, with an urgency that almost sounded like panic. Zelda rubbed her eyes, balling her fists tight out of hysteria and shame. "I'm sorry," she sobbed, the words feeling like a chant. Link sighed, but after a few moments she felt him drape his hood over her shoulders.

"Let's just get some sleep," he said, and Zelda nodded, letting him lead her to her bedroll.

When the daylight came, Zelda permitted herself to look back towards where the Guardian lay. Whatever she had done to it, she had used enough force to blast its husk almost thirty feet backwards and tear off its remaining legs. No matter what Link said, the Guardian was well and truly dead now. They trudged in silence through the remaining stretch of wetlands, and by evenfall were within close distance of Zora's Domain.

In the rapidly-fading light, the shadow of Vah Ruta spanned across the valley. As they made their way through Luto's Crossing, Zelda looked skyward. _To see inside a Divine Beast_ _once more_ , she thought, unable to fathom it. She caught a glimpse of a navy-scaled Zora atop the wide plateau where Vah Ruta stood, and felt her quiet elation melt like summer snow. The thought of meeting with the Zoras, and of discussing the future of Hyrule; it filled her with dread where she had for so long expected to feel anticipation. But Vah Ruta needed her. The Beast had not been entirely freed of the Malice, nor had any of the other three. Still, Zelda felt a paralyzing fear as she gazed up at the otherworldly swirls on stone of the Divine Beast's body. She hoped that with the Calamity past and Ganon gone, most of the chaos was past as well.

When Zelda looked back at the plateau, the navy Zora was gone, and from the tall plateau Zelda could hear distant shouting. It seemed to grow louder and more frantic the longer she stared up at the Divine Beast. She stopped, gripping the rails of the crossing and craning her neck in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the commotion. Link had stopped beside her and he too was gazing up at the Beast, his face twisted with concern and confusion.

"Something's happening up there. Something's wrong," Zelda said. Link nodded in agreement.

And then the shouting stopped, drowned out by a booming shriek that filled the valley surrounding the Zora River. Zelda recognised it immediately, her skin prickling, the rumble resonating through her body; the trumpeting of a divine elephant. _Vah Ruta!_

Link pushed off from the rails, beckoning for Zelda to follow. Swallowing her fear, she did as she was bid.

As they raced together towards Zora's Domain, Zelda could not strike the sound of that roar from her mind. It was a warning, an omen, one that they could not ignore. They were alive, yes, and Calamity Ganon had been defeated, but that was not the end of that.

Divine Beast Vah Ruta roared again, the whole valley shuddering in response, and Zelda knew; _the world is full of chaos still._

* * *

As a child growing up in Karusa Valley, Chancellor Leilo instructors had told him that living in the desert instills peace in the soul. Peace with the harsh land; peace with one's limits; peace with oneself.

Yet peace eluded him, no matter where he went. Beyond the threshold of his shanty, the first sounds of the late-summer sandstorm had begun to fill air. The rising winds rattled the shutters and sent tremors rippling through his hut, despite its construction into the wind-hewn cliff face of the deep Gerudo Tower valley. Storms like these would bring more than sand and dust in the coming months; Hyrule had not endured a harsh winter in some years, and Chancellor Leilo could feel the oncoming darkness in his bones.

 _More like the darkness is already here_ , he mused, _ever since the death of Master Kohga at the hands of that boy_.

The one they called Champion; the one carrying the slate. Whispers on the trails and through the towns spoke of Kohga's death as though it were legend. No two Yiga able to agree on just how his valiant death occurred. Some swore the Hylian boy snuck into the Master's chamber and poured an odourless poison onto his pillow, before sneaking off into the night. Others spoke of a great battle between the two, and how the Hylian had used sorcery to stop time. Others were convinced it was a ruse, that Kohga had staged his death-to throw the boy off his guard-and would later return to them, victorious against the so-called Champion.

Chancellor Leilo suspected that none of these rumours were correct, though he had no wish to discover the truth. Havoc had ruled the Yiga in the months since Kohga's death; for without a Master, the vacuum at the center of their clan threatened to swallow them whole.

Another gust sent the shutter battering against the window panes, and Leilo nearly wanted to cover his ears to drown out the incessant sound. Restless, he rose from his small writing desk and hobbled over to the shanty door. With weak fingers he pried it open, and called for his assistant Inglis, who was outside preparing their supper. The spry, Akkalan boy, with the pale skin of a northerner and neat, bark-brown hair loped over from the cooking pot. He was a new recruit, barely a man, and Chancellor Leilo could tell that Inglis was not too thrilled at being assigned the role of steward to one as elderly as himself.

Inglis stood to attention, his hands behind his back. He was as plain as he was polite, a quality that Chancellor Leilo found strangely irritating. "Yes, Chancellor?" the boy said.

"Finish your work, Inglis, and come inside. The storm will be here within the hour."

The boy nodded sharply, and jogged back over to the pot. For a moment Chancellor Leilo remained at the doorway, watching the boy at work over their food, before passing his eyes over the circular valley for any signs of movement. There was nothing to see except the rising heat off the sands beyond, and the leviathan-like wall of dust that crept across the desert towards them. Weary, the Chancellor turned, and returned to his desk.

Leilo had held the role of Chancellor for only half a year, and it was only three months into his new position that Master Kohga had been defeated. As tradition dictated - and tradition was at the core of the Yiga Clan - a new Master was to be elected, and it seemed every Yiga with more than a year's service to their name thought themselves worthy. The role of selecting the candidates and running the election had fallen to Leilo - and after months of infighting, bloody duels between members, and more bribery offers than he could count, Chancellor Leilo wanted nothing more than to put a few miles between him and that damned hideout. He had traveled to the desert with Inglis so that his mind could be at peace, and to select the worthy candidates among the applicants.

No less than seventeen Yiga had put their names down; more than half of them too young, and another half after that too reckless to lead. For such an old clan, the Chancellor pondered, how could it be that so many of them were idiots?

His assistant had not yet returned. Soon the sun would set, and the storm would arrive.

"Inglis!" the Chancellor called as he glanced over his notes. "Inglis, hurry up, will you!"

The door creaked open, slow and measured in a way that sent a chill down the Chancellor's spine. Age had robbed him of his ability to fight, or even defend himself. He could not make himself turn.

"Hello, Leilo," came the voice at the door. The Chancellor recognised it immediately. Slowly, he stood from his chair and turned to face the voice. A tall and thin man stood in the doorway, no older than twenty-five, with messy red hair and piercing dark eyes. He was dressed in plain traveller's clothes, though his trousers and shirt were too short. He carried a painted Duplex Bow.

"Bold of you to come this close to the Valley," Leilo said. "You should not be here, deserter."

"There's nowhere I _should_ be," the man responded contemptuously. "You however, should not be here either."

Chancellor Leilo swallowed his fear, gripping his chair for support. He had scores of years on this boy - perhaps he could not fight, but there was no honour in being afraid.

"What have you done with Inglis?" Leilo demanded.

"Inglis is just fine. He is not hurt," the man crooned. His presence in the hut brought the faint smell of cinnamon. It almost made Leilo gag.

"You use our ways against us. You are worse than a traitor."

The boy laughed, and advanced into the hut. " _Us_?" he challenged. "What purpose does the Yiga Clan have anymore? Or have you been in this hovel for so long that you did not hear? Did not _see_?"

"I will not tolerate this, deserter," Leilo barked. "Leave us! Run away with your tail between your legs - just as you did those years ago!"

The deserter ignored him, unflinching. "Calamity Ganon is _dead_. Slain no doubt by the Champion and that magic of his. And he lives. He's been spotted in Necluda, travelling with some Hylian girl."

Chancellor Leilo felt his heart seize with a mixture of fear and resignation. He tried to keep his face as steely as he could, but his soul was old, and his spirit was no longer strong. The deserter noticed, wicked smile widening.

"Hyrule Castle waits to be conquered," he goaded,taking another step into the hut. "And the Yiga sit and nibble their feathers while it lays empty."

"We cannot operate without a Master," Leilo protested, despair still swimming his mind. "My work is of paramount importance. You - you shouldn't even care what we do!"

A gust of wind sent a fine rain of dust down from the rafters, adding another coat of silt to the already stuffy and dirt-strewn hut. Chancellor Leilo was unable to stop himself from coughing, hacking and lurching while the deserter looked on and grinned.

"Just because I'm no longer part of your little club doesn't mean I no longer _care_ ," he said in his sing-song voice. "There's so much to be done now that the Champion has sealed away that beast in the Castle."

Leilo composed himself, leaning haggardly against his chair for support. He knew the deserter's heart just as he knew the cinnamon scent that followed wherever he went. Despite his aging mind, Chancellor Leilo remembered well the short years that the deserter studied under his tutelage. "You think it will mean there will finally be a place for you? You think the world will change that fast? I don't care for your ambitions, deserter, no more than I did when you left us."

The deserter surged forward, his balled fist curving in an arc in front of him and striking Chancellor Leilo in the ribs. The Chancellor hurtled backwards as his attacker pinned him against the wall.

"You should care, Leilo," he whispered with menace. "Because one of the obstacles to my _ambitions_ is you."

The Chancellor squealed like a chick, his breath ragged as he battled the dust in the air and the immoveable fingers at his throat. "Inglis! _Inglis!_ " he cried.

"You see," the deserter continued, as if the Chancellor were making no sound at all, "I know that your Yiga will make move for Hyrule Castle the second you have a new Master. And since I'm yet to gather my forces, I figure the best way to stall for time is to prevent the election from occurring at all."

"Inglis!" the Chancellor shrieked. He flailed his arms and legs, but the boy's greater strength kept him pinned to the wall. "Inglis!"

His assistant appeared at the doorway, and regarded the Chancellor stoically. "At the ready, Chancellor," Inglis said calmly. He nodded to the shanty's other occupant. "At the ready, Chief."

"Very good, Inglis." the deserter replied, not taking his eyes off the chancellor.

"You...you…" the Chancellor regarded Inglis with disbelief. "With him?"

"Always have been, Chancellor." Inglis answered. The deserter seemed to take great pleasure in the exchange, his dark eyes hungry for the Chancellor's reaction.

"My people will survive me," the Chancellor croaked, feeling suddenly faint, and light - lighter than he had felt since his youth.

"No," the deserter smiled. "There's a new regime coming to Hyrule."

A sharp pain ripped through the Chancellor's chest before he even noticed the dagger in his attacker's hand. The deserter withdrew, and Leilo toppled down onto the dirt-strewn floor, his lungs afire with pain.

"Cin… why, Cine…?" he muttered before his breath left him, watching helplessly the deserter sauntered uncaringly towards the doorway.

"Come, Inglis," he smiled, patting Leilo's assistant on the back. "We need to make it into Karusa Valley before this storm hits."

There was another creak, and the pair were gone. Chanellor Leilo closed his eyes, feeling the essence within him slowly fade. The hut stank of dust and dirt and cinnamon, and Leilo was unable to escape it, any of it. Not the stench, not his death, and not the storm.


	2. Gift

All eyes looked their way. Yellow eyes, green eyes, bright as gemstones, even if their beholder did not stop to look, the eyes did.

 _The Champion and the Princess, back here, once again…_

Not a single one of the Zora in the bustling plaza of Zora's Domain stopped to offer a greeting, or to enquire what business they might have in the Domain. Link understood; speaking could so hard, but looking was easy. Looking was as real as speaking, even if he knew he should do more.

From across the plaza, Link looked where his eyes took him; to the Princess, as she gazed up at an ethereal stone statue, though he himself could not bear to look upon it. Link already knew what the statue depicted; the lovely, and long dead, Champion of the Zora, Princess Mipha, rising out of the stone and standing triumphant, a beacon of both hope and grief. The memories of her were still raw, but with a hazy, niggling quality. In fact, all Link's memories were much this way - always there but still _just_ out of reach. Certain things around him made them burn brighter: the smell of salt brought flashes of childhood summers spent in Zora's Domain; the sound of clanging steel from the smithy rendering images of the Hylian Academy and the haunting smiles of his fellow Knights; and the girl-shaped sunburst of yellow and blue standing by Mipha's likeness bringing Link's final days back with full clarity. Zelda noticed him staring at her, and gave him a weak smile and a curt wave. Instinctually, Link waved back, though he felt silly doing so, his normally assured hand now clumsy and limp. _Don't be a fool_ , he thought. _It's just Zelda._

Just Zelda. That wasn't right. She was so much more; an excess within his once quiet world. Sometimes it was too much, all the memories. It made him feel drunk on his own thoughts. Each new piece and each new fragment brought both pain and a never-ending dissatisfaction. But Link wanted more – wanted them all – despite how much it might hurt.

One of the King Dorephan's retainers approached, and Link moved to join Zelda by the statue. The retainer was an old Zora whose scales were dropped with age and whose solemn eyes regarded the Hylians with a skeptical squint. All the eyes were the same, Link had realised eventually; they all betrayed disbelief.

Link felt foolish for not thinking it earlier; in all his time spent working to free the Hylian Princess from that castle, he'd never once considered if anyone would _believe_ that he did, or that the shining blonde Hylian he had brought to the Domain was _actually_ her. At least the Zora were relatively easy to convince, given their lifespans. Many of them recognized her on sight, glad (and frankly somewhat surprised) to see the Princess alive. But even so, just as the first time Link had returned to Zora's Domain, the older Zora met the Princess with a cool standoffishness that bordered on impolite.

"King Dorephan is ready to see you now," the retainer said flatly.

Link knew that the Princess's presence opened wounds not yet fully healed, the triangle crest on her clothes all but representing the Calamity to those who could remember it. Yes, the Zora remembered her face, but they also remembered her people's misguided plan in unearthing the ancient technology that ultimately killed their Champion. The hesitant look on Zelda's face told Link that she sensed their hostility as well. All this aside, the mood was tense in Zora's Domain. Just the day before, _something_ had happened to Divine Beast Vah Ruta, though the Zora were tight-lipped about it. Link and Zelda had not been permitted to enter Zora's Domain until the next morning and were forced to camp down by the river - despite the Princess's repeated and increasingly frustrated protests. But now that they were here, it seemed both Link and Zelda did not know what to expect from their audience with the Zora King.

 _Say something_ , Link told himself. _Anything_.

* * *

"Let's go," he said, and Zelda gave a small, resolute nod.

They bowed in unison before the towering King Dorephan. An assembly of Zora elders and denizens had gathered to observe the return of the supposed Hylian Princess, though Link noted with some concern that Prince Sidon was absent. The King sat in the centre of the audience chamber, perched on his watery throne and flanked by the members of the court. Link guessed from their increasingly ornate jewels that those who sat higher and closer to the King were of higher standing, though regardless of rank they all seemed to sneer down at them in the same way.

Dorephan bid them to rise. "There is no need," he said, his deep voice filling the chamber.

They stood. "It is good to see that you live, Princess," the King went on. "And that Link's efforts were not in vain."

"We are…we are all grateful for what Link has done," Zelda spoke calmly and confidently, but Link recognized that tone. He'd heard it somewhere, though the exact memory was hard to pin down, that sliver of self-doubt He wondered if the King had noticed. "And Hyrule is truly blessed to be free of Ganon at last," she continued.

The King nodded in agreement. "Though not without loss."

Link saw Zelda tense. "King Dorephan – I can never offer enough gratitude for Mipha's support, or enough condolences for your loss. I can never-"

A scowling dark green Zora cut her off, "Do you intend to try, _Princess_?" He stood almost at the King's side, though his jewels were plain and subtle. Link recognised the old Zora, and remembered what he was; a confidant of the King, with no need to grandstand in order to maintain his position.

"Muzu," the King scolded, and the green Zora receded with a knowing grin.

The Princess stood firm. "Please understand I – I have little to nothing in the way of resources any longer."

Muzu scoffed. "Well, we all know why," There were twitters among the court - now laughs and sneers.

"Muzu – enough!" the King bellowed, and the whole court silenced. Link glared fiercely at the old Zora, with an intensity that he was sure would burn through skin. _You changed your tune when I appeased Ruta, and now that Zelda is here you've changed it back_. The anger flowed like molten lava through his veins. As if in response, he felt the sword on his back pulse with heat.

"My apologies," the King said. "Though I must preempt this discussion by saying that, as grateful as we are, we cannot offer much. I have heard that little of Hyrule remains. You, Princess, are welcome here. We will support _you_ , and your well-being, but we cannot support a Hyrule that does not exist."

 _But it does; I've seen it_ , Link wanted to say. Hateno. Lurelin. Tarrey Town. They were all rebuilding, all _surviving_ – they might not be much but they were there. If she could get them on her side, if she could convince them to help rebuild Castle Town….

"Thank you, but that is frankly _not_ why I'm here," the Princess countered. "It's true. I have nothing to rebuild my home with, and no one to support me. But none of that matters while the Malice left behind by Calamity Ganon still swarms our land."

Zelda held up her Sheikah Slate, revealing a small translucent map of the Zora's Divine Beast. This sent a hush through the court, and Link saw the King's face darken.

"Remote readings from the my Sheikah Slate reveal that Divine Beast Vah Ruta is still plagued by the corruption. As are all the Divine Beasts. But as contained sites of contamination they are the perfect candidates for investigation into neutralizing the Malice." She took a deep breath. Link waited for the Zora to interrupt, but none did. The court seemed to bristle awkwardly. "All I ask for now is access to Vah Ruta. I'm…I'm seeing signs that she's in a low power state. That she may have stopped working. We heard the commotion yesterday. Can you tell me what might have happened to her?"

King Dorephan sighed, his face drawn and overcast with shadow. "Yes," he said solemnly. "My foolish son tried to board her, putting himself and the entire Domain at risk."

That alarmed them both. "Is he okay?" Zelda questioned.

The Zora King did not hesitate. "No," he said gravely. "Very far from it."

* * *

Prince Sidon did not notice them enter the infirmary, nor did he respond to any of Zelda's gentle greetings or questions. He barely even groaned when two nurses arrived to check and dress his wounds. Link had tugged on Zelda's arm then, beckoning her to leave so that she would not see, but she stood firm, as if she was mentally cataloguing the Prince's injuries.

"Tell me the truth," she said to the nurses as they were preparing to leave. "How is he?"

The two cerulean-scaled Zora exchanged a glance, and then looked to Zelda before averting their eyes. They both hesitated to speak. _That's all we need to know_ , Link thought. The taller one spoke first, wringing her hands.

"He survives."

"But barely," added the other, her tone dismayed. "We...we are trying to remain hopeful."

Zelda gave a weak sob. "No," she murmured. "Oh, no."

"Be sure to let us know if he stirs, we ask that you do not remain long," one of the nurses said, and they both turned to leave. Their wet footfalls echoed in the watery hallways outside, fading and leaving Link and Zelda unaccompanied with the Zoran prince.

King Dorephan had explained that Sidon, seeing Calamity Ganon's defeat, must have felt a rush of valiance and pride, and sought to board Ruta. To pay his respects to Mipha, or to take control of the Divine Beast for himself – the King wasn't sure of his son's plan. Sidon was found later at the base of Vah Ruta, injured and near death, with the right side of his body tinged with an angry purple-red rot. He had been running fevers, his nurses had said, breathing shallowly and irregularly throughout the night. The Prince had yet to rouse.

"It's the Malice," Link stated once they were alone, looking over at Sidon.

"I assumed as much," Zelda agreed. "It forms when water is tainted by the Calamity, so I suppose the Zora would be susceptible to it."

She flopped unceremoniously into the stool placed by Sidon's bed, intertwining her fingers in one of Sidon's limp hands and studying his face intently. "We can't let him die. I won't let Ganon take Mipha's brother too."

Link grabbed another nearby stool and sat beside her. "We can think of something," he insisted optimistically, though he felt her despair creeping into his own thoughts. Sidon had felt like his only friend at times, with his unwavering faith that Link would succeed. And now the Calamity threatened to simply take him away. _Just like Mipha_. _Just like all of them_.

"Mipha…." Link recalled, suddenly inspired. Zelda looked at him wearily.

"What?"

Link looked down at his hands. "She gave me her power...but I've never tried with anyone else."

" _Mipha's Grace_ ," Zelda murmured her eyes lighting up as she realized what he was saying. Without another word, she stood and went to the door. "Alright," she nodded, the triangular crest on her right hand beginning to glow. "I'll make sure nobody disturbs you."

Link wheeled around. "Wait – are you sure?"

"No, but...these powers have proven more intuitive than intellectual. So I'm just going to go with my feeling on this one." She turned around and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Do you trust me?"

He couldn't deny her. Link nodded, and turned back to Sidon.

He held his hands out over the sleeping Prince, and thought of Mipha. In the past, when he'd taken a particularly bad blow, instinct had taken over and suddenly Mipha's likeness was there. He would see her smile and hear her sweet voice, and just like that he felt completely rejuvenated. But now he had to _call_ on the power, and he simply didn't know how.

"Um, any advice?" he called out.

"Pardon?"

"How do you use your powers?"

Zelda looked at him thoughtfully, idle fingers adjusting her blouse as she considered his question. "I just do," she confessed.

"Well, what do you think about?"

"What I want- I mean" she seemed to catch herself, "what I want to happen. Or…or something that makes me feel confident. Happy, even."

Link turned back around, feeling like a fool with his hands still held out over Sidon.

 _What I want to happen. Something that makes me feel confident_. _Something that makes me happy_. Link thought of Sidon's toothy grin, and his unbridled enthusiasm, and how the world needed the Prince's light in the same way that it had needed Mipha's. He pictured a restored kingdom and a happy people, and a smiling Princess at his side who could be at peace at last. He thought of his memories, the ones that brought him some level of contentment; such as sitting with Mipha atop Vah Ruta, relieved when she made his pain go away, and secretly hoping the afternoon could stretch on a little longer. And then his thoughts drifted over to his final memory of a past life, when he watched as the Princess saved him from the corrupted Guardians. He felt…joy, and pride, at seeing her unlock her powers. In that moment, it seemed she was the centre of the world.

"It's working!" Zelda's breathless cry snapped Link out of his daze. He almost startled from his chair.

Links hands were wreathed in a white and blue light, a faint hum emanating from them. He held them steady, and focused on Sidon. He could feel a slight pull all the way from his hands to his heart, and he swore that for an instant he heard Mipha's voice. A minute later the glow had receded and the Prince began to stir.

Zelda rushed over from the door and knelt beside the bed, her eyes alive with anticipation.

The Prince awoke, and flashed them a groggy smile. "Link!" he managed, his speech slurred. "You look well!"

Sidon caught sight of Zelda's beaming face beside him. "And you've brought the Goddess herself."

Zelda burst into laughter, swept up in her own relief. Twin tears had began to roll down her cheeks.

"Is everything okay?" the Prince asked, shifting awkwardly on his bed.

"Yes," Link answered, passing Zelda a small smile, finding himself quietly joyous when she smiled back. "It will be."


	3. Malice

"Alright, Link, stand back," Zelda warned, holding her right hand up to a seeping pool of Malice. The triangular crest on her hand glowed faintly, responding to the corruption.

The main chamber within Vah Ruta was slanted sharply and now partially flooded. The Divine Beast reared on her hind legs and perched on the edge of a plateau - just the way Mipha had left her after their encounter with Calamity Ganon. The only place Link and Zelda could stand with comfort was within one of the two enormous cogs at the centre of the chamber. Their first expedition into the Divine Beast confirmed what the Sheikah Slate had told her - Malice still plagued Vah Ruta, and from what Link told her, there seemed to be more than he remembered. Perhaps the Malice was growing, festering while it remained undisturbed.

Focusing, Zelda blasted the pool of sludge with a surge of light. She felt the power course through every inch of her body, permeating her entire being and making her feel somehow separate from everything. As if she could in some small way manipulate reality itself. The radiance receded, and the Malice gurgled just as ferociously as before. Zelda lowered her hand, sighing. She fetched the Sheikah Slate to jot down her observations. ' _Sealing power has no effect?_ '

She looked over to Link for some guidance. He stared back with wide, unblinking eyes, and gave a short shrug. _Don't look at me_.

Link had already told her everything he could about the Malice that he'd encountered. Sometimes there was a nexus, or more specifically an eyeball, that could be destroyed to clear it away. Other times it was just _there_ in large pools and could cling to any manner of surface, and nothing he'd tried - Master Sword, bombs, arrows, fire arrows - seemed to have any effect.

"Well, trying to simply destroy it is a bit overzealous," Zelda had said. And while Link couldn't help in her research, that wasn't to say she didn't need him. He was the core of why they were allowed into Vah Ruta in the first place. When the Zora discovered that Prince Sidon had opened his eyes, and that the Champion Link had performed the miracle with a power gifted to him by their lost Princess-well, after that they were quite happy to grant Zelda's request. The Princess was given a small cell within the Domain, with no more than a bed and a small writer's desk, and Link was given a permanent bed at their inn. They were free to come and go as they pleased, and were permitted to board Vah Ruta if they could manage it without ending up like the Prince. The King was adamant however that they not dawdle.

"Vah Ruta is a sacred site," he had explained. "While we would all like to see her free of the corruption, we cannot abide her being turned into an... _experiment_ , as you put it."

Yes, perhaps an insensitive choice of wording. Zelda was certain however that with enough time and enough thorough investigation, she could figure out a way to destroy the Malice. But without Link's help to climb the steep inclines and unsteady platforms, Zelda was unable to get inside the Divine Beast at all, let alone conduct any research. To make matters worse, the main control unit inside Ruta was now entirely submerged. Situated at the stern of the Divine Beast, the circular chamber received the brunt of the flooding waters that drained towards the rear of the structure. Without access to the control unit, there was no way to move Ruta at all, and so every room and every corridor would be remain at such a steep incline that they were nearly untraversable. Zelda had tried her best to dive all the way down to the control unit, jumping into the water before Link could stop her, with her Sheikah Slate held outstretched as she _reached_ and _reached_ for the pedestal...

When she passed out in the waters, Link stepped in to try the feat himself - until Zelda pointed out that even if he activated the control unit, he hadn't a single clue on how to pilot it. And so he gave an ultimatum. They were going to finish the job with an immobile, flooded and skyward-raised Divine Beast, or not at all. Still soaking wet, half-frozen and frustrated by her own lack of physical fitness, Zelda made an executive decision: if Ruta was inaccessible, she would cut Ruta out of the equation entirely. And so after an afternoon spent carefully extracting some of the Malice that clung to Ruta's walls, they placed what they had into one of the leftover Sheikah Chests and threw it overboard. Zelda's research could continue, and neither of them would need to go near Ruta. The Zora were none too pleased that she'd brought the poisonous sludge back into the Domain, but Zelda assured them she could keep it contained.

After so many years and so much time spent on the cusp of both victory and defeat, Zelda was surprised to find herself slipping easily back into a routine. In the mornings she broke her fast with salted fish and pickings of fruit, sitting in one of the water-filled gazebos on the outer edges of the Domain. By day she was glued to her research - poking and prodding at the Malice and noting how it reacted, _if_ it reacted. By night she went over her notes, planned her work for the morrow, and rested. At first Link followed her everywhere - acting on his instincts again - and they would slip into their comfortable silence as usual. But then she started seeing him less and less. Practicing his swordplay perhaps. Or swimming. Or fishing. It wasn't important; what mattered was that he got his well-deserved break.

That morning however, she could not find him. He was usually nearby, at least. The day before she had found him chatting idly with a still-recovering Sidon, and the day before that he was poking around the tools in the workshop. But today? She had jogged through every watery twisting corridor, checked the length of both bridges leading from the Domain, and teleported over to Vah Ruta alone - but he was nowhere to be found. Zelda slumped down at the base of Divine Beast, taking off her shoes to soak her sore feet in the lake that filled the plateau on which Ruta stood. She cursed under her breath as she rubbed her legs. _Where_ is _he?_

Turning back towards the Domain, Zelda spotted a blue-and-white figure jogging along the cliff's edge towards her. _Link!_ she thought for half a second, until she realised the figure was too tall to be a Hylian. Eventually a lean and youthful looking Zora came into view, and waved her over. Zelda didn't recognise the woman, but then again there were so many Zora in the Domain that it was hard to keep track.

"Princess," the woman said. "Oh, I'm glad I ran into you. I was just coming to check on Vah Ruta."

"Well, there doesn't seem to be any change in her."

"Of course," the woman replied with a smile. "If I may, Princess, the King has asked me to relay a message to you. In one week, we will be holding the Champion Festival, and so the King asks that Vah Ruta remain empty until then."

"But-but," Zelda stammered. "I need to continue my research. We need to secure more samples."

The Zora woman's face dropped. "King's orders," she said curtly, pushing past to head towards the Divine Beast. Zelda stomped along behind her.

"Some more notice would have been appreciated," she called out to the woman. "And just who are you?"

"Larella, Personal Assistant to the King," the woman returned. Zelda raced to catch up to her. They were fast approaching the plateau lake.

"Well perhaps then, Larella, you'd like to convey to the King that I've requested access into the workshop several times now, and each time I've been ignored. I can't just carry out experiments from my desk-"

"I'll pass it on!" the Zora woman said, before diving into the lake and disappearing. Zelda kicked the dirt in spite of herself, feeling like a spurned child. She considered waiting at the lake's edge for the stupid woman to show herself, but quickly realised she didn't have the patience. _Enough is enough_ , she thought, and walked back towards the Domain.

* * *

Zelda found her appointed knight underneath the Domain, after she'd run into a less-than-healthy looking Sidon in the central plaza. The Prince had been sitting by Mipha's statue on a small stone stool, and was wrapped in a long cloak. He seemed to shiver as he spoke, and Zelda could tell he was mustering all of his remaining energy.

"He's helping us out with the octoroks at the moment," Sidon had grinned. "It's great!"

"Octoroks?" Zelda wasn't even aware there were octoroks in the Domain.

"Right under our feet!" Sidon exclaimed. "I mean that literally. He's down there trying to clear them out for us."

And so Zelda made the climb down to the underbelly of the Domain, and found Link shuffling about in the shallow waters, shield in hand and a mighty Rito bow strapped to his back. She felt a twinge of recognition and sadness upon seeing the proudly made bow, with its limbs painted in lilac and gold. _Revali's bow,_ she thought. _At least it's being put to use._

A trio of blue water octoroks glared up at him from beneath the water surface, all surfacing in unison to launch three boulders in his direction. The knight deftly dodged all three, and quickly fired at the leftmost octorok. It screeched and splashed back into the water, but was not dead.

"Link," Zelda called out. He quickly looked her way, and then returned his attention to the octoroks. "Where have you been?"

He ignored her, feet dancing on the slippery rocks as he dodged yet another onslaught. "Link," she called out again.

"Busy," was all he said as he fired yet another arrow into the previously-injured octorok. It finally succumbed, and floated limply down the river. The two remaining octoroks seemed to seethe at Link now that their friend had been dispatched.

In a huff, Zelda stormed forward towards the octoroks, raised her right hand and unleashed a blast of energy into the waters. Link startled backwards, nearly losing his footing. When the light receded, there were no octoroks to be seen - only some unrecognisable remains and a pair of octo balloons. Link waded into the water to fetch them, quickly latching them both to his belt. He began to make for the ladder back to the main plaza of the Domain, but Zelda stood in his path.

"Did they tell you about the Champion Festival?" she demanded. "Because I've only just heard."

"I've heard," Link said plainly.

"Did they tell you that we're being barred from Vah Ruta? For a week?"

Link raised an eyebrow. "Do you know why they celebrate Champion Festival?"

She threw up her hands. "No! What am I meant to do for a week? We're almost out of samples."

Link placed his bow back on his back, and his expression changed. He gave her a stern look, and the angriest frown she'd ever seen from him. "Is that it?" he asked quietly.

"I'm sorry?"

"Is _that_ why you're angry?"

"Yes," she said firmly, meeting his gaze. "That and other things."

Link just sighed, and walked past her towards the ladder without another word. She called after him, but he simply climbed up and out of sight, not even stopping to say where he was going. All around, Zora's Domain glittered passively as if to taunt her. Looking beyond the Domain she could see the flowing river stretching out into the valley, and the blue and red and green flashes of colour that gracefully streamed through the water as the Zora passed to and from the Domain - all happily going about their business and paying her absolutely no mind. _You don't belong here_ , they seemed to say in unison. _You don't belong anywhere_.

* * *

Days were starting to stretch on, testing even his patience. Link could feel himself getting antsy all over, like he had a belly full of bugs. He flexed his hands, wanting to feel the weight of a sword, wanting to feel his blood course through his veins and rush to his lungs after a breathless dash across a battlefield. He wanted to fall just to feel the wind on his face. He wanted to run for his life just to run at all.

Sidon flashed him a knowing grin as Link walked back into the plaza. "Two down!" the Prince cheered upon seeing the octo balloons, before stopping suddenly as a hacking cough overcame him.

"How are you feeling?" Link asked, noticing the vein-shaped streaks of Malice creeping out from under the Prince's cloak.

"I'm alive, Link, all thanks to you," the Prince smiled, though Link wondered for how much longer. The Prince shifted uncomfortably on his stool, and was overcome once again by his relentless cough. The Zora in the plaza seemed to slow and stop what they were doing, anxiously peering in the Prince's direction.

"Did you see anything in Vah Ruta?" Sidon asked, changing the subject. "Did anything attack you?"

"No? Why?"

Sidon leaned in, his eyes darting around the plaza as if to check for eavesdroppers. His voice was low, with an unnerving graveness that Link was not used to hearing from the Prince. "The nurses informed my father that some of my wounds were made by a blade. That my injuries don't match up with a fall."

Link's stomach dropped. How many times had he and the Princess gone to Vah Ruta unarmed? Or the Princess completely on her own? Perhaps this was why they were barred from Ruta.

"Do you know what it might have been?"

The Prince frowned, and shook his head. Though he would not admit it, the news of the threat filled Link with excitement. Confined within the bounds of the Domain had made him feel like a stranger in his own body. With Zelda safe and undisturbed by malicious beasts, foul monsters, or treacherous clans, what was there for him to do?

Well, there was one thing to do. Those damned octoroks. They'd already torn through a number of shields, and the Dento the smith was getting hesitant to give him any more. It was a struggle as well to take them down with arrows alone; he must have weeded out the thinner-skinned ones by now. And yet they were still growing in number. He needed something stronger. Something quicker than even an arrow. _A Guardian's laser would do it_ , Link mused, smiling at the absurdity of the thought. And while it seemed the Princess was more than capable of dispatching them, she didn't seem to be in a good mood with him - or anyone - at the moment. Truth be told, Link was as frustrated with her as the Zora were, but he wasn't sure what to make of that feeling, or how to confront her about it.

Once Prince Sidon had returned to the infirmary, Link made his way to the smithy. He sat in the workshop examining an arrow he'd pulled from a dead octorok, listening to the sounds of Dento tinkering away at some shield repairs. The trouble was the way the octoroks attacked. They'd hide under water where he couldn't get a good shot at them, and then jump up without any notice. By the time Link could draw his bow, the damn things had already fired at him and he would lose precious time dodging. He needed something that could be fired with one hand, allowing him to block with his shield, or something that could be fired immediately, before the octoroks could retaliate. The idea set off the pangs of familiarity - another memory. But it was too fuzzy to even access. All he could recall was the Academy, of his years spent training to be a Knight, so it must have had something to do with that.

Dento listened carefully when Link explained the problem, nodded solemnly and mumbling in agreement.

"Yes, yes," he observed. "A quickfire mechanism - a crossbow, that is what you need. Though I believe I'm too busy on the preparations for Champion Festival to craft one for you."

Crossbow! That was it. Link fetched his bow from the workbench, and casually nocked and drew the arrow in his hand. The comfort of the weight made him smile.

He felt a surge of determination. "Could I use the workshop, Master Dento?" he asked. The old Zora looked over at the spare workbench, which was occupied by a variety of Link's weapons and belongings.

"You already are, Champion," he said, and returned to his work.

* * *

Dento had to be recruited into the process, since Link knew little to nothing about weapon craft. With an awkward hand Link drew up the plans, carved and finished the wood, and spent a week's worth of long days fiddling and doting on his creation until finally, he managed to get it to fire. His hands were blistered from the work, and he'd lost count of the number of splinters he'd pulled. But once it was done, Link was unable to stop himself from grinning. And since he wasn't permitted to do much else, Sidon had taken to sitting with him in the workshop as well, still wrapped in his cloak and wincing at the slightest breeze. The Prince marveled at the finished crossbow.

"Fantastic!" he beamed. "I can't believe you're doing this just for us."

"Link's a regular prodigy," Dento agreed. "Though, I don't remember your father being a smith."

The Princess's words echoed in his head. _Your path seems to mirror your father's._

"I don't think so," Link answered, though he wasn't entirely sure.

All around them, the Domain was abuzz. It was the day before the Champion Festival, and preparations were very much underway: long streamers of woven pastel flowers and shrubbery were strung between the glittering columns of the Domain; Mipha's monument and the re-created jewels that decorated it were polished until they shone; Zoran nobles squabbled about their allocated seat court table; and the air was filled with the rich aromas of salt-fish, stewed crabs and all manner of delicacies as the entire Domain worked to contribute to the feast. The King had passed on a message through his assistant Larella, inviting Link to join himself, Sidon, and the Zora elders in boarding Vah Ruta to pay their respects to Mipha. Link questioned the safety of the plan, only because Vah Ruta was still corrupted by the Malice.

"The Princess hasn't found a way to get rid of it yet-"

"The Princess need not be consulted," King Dorephan explained. "Nor need she concern herself with our traditions."

 _They're excluding her_ , Link realised. After thinking through his conflicting emotions, he politely declined their offer.

"You were Mipha's betrothed," the King argued.

"I know," Link said, bowing his head. "I'm sorry - it wouldn't be right."

He didn't see Zelda the entire day of the Champion Festival. In fact, she'd been scarce the entire week. She seemed to spend most of her time in her room, only occasionally leaving once night had fallen to walk along the long bridges of the Domain. Both times he had caught her, she had told him she was just fine, and brusquely returned to her room. Regardless, he had left a bowl of warm chowder by her door during the midday feast, slipping a small note underneath to tell her that there was food if she wanted it. When he returned in the evening, the bowl was empty, so he knew at least that she was in there.

He knocked on her door, and heard nothing but silence. He knocked again: nothing. Gingerly he opened the door, and found an empty room. It was tidy, but dreary and bleak. The exact kind of place that no one could enjoy being cooped up in.

Link found Zelda standing in one of the water-filled gazebos on an upper terrace of the main structure. She was looking down over the central plaza, where the Zora were feasting and dancing, though by now the music had died down.

"One hundred and one years," she said after he approached. "It's been over a century now since the Calamity. They've turned a horrible day into a celebration - all because of how much they loved her."

Link couldn't tell if she was looking at them with sorrow or contempt. Knowing the Princess it could have been either. He gripped the railing of the gazebo, unsure how to respond. The day of the Great Calamity. The day of the Champion Festival. But there was more to it than that, he realised. It was the day of Zelda's birthday, as it had been when the Calamity had struck. He hadn't even realised. _Has she?_ Link wondered if he should say something, but hesitated. He could very well make the entire day worse for her.

"At least I'll be able to go to Vah Ruta tomorrow," Zelda pondered, cutting through his thoughts.

"I'll come with you," Link told her, suddenly guilty. She didn't look at him; her eyes were fixed on the celebrations below.

"Thank you," she muttered, and quietly stepped past him to walk back to her room.

* * *

Somehow, Vah Ruta looked worse. The Malice they had removed had already grown back, and unless Zelda was second-guessing herself, there seemed to be more.

Link had climbed up towards the bow to examine the parts of Ruta that Zelda could not reach. She waited patiently for him from within the large cog, remembering with sorrow the way Vah Ruta had looked when they'd discovered her. Majestic and shining, so complex and yet somehow organic in the way she moved. Eventually Zelda heard the rush of air against fabric, and Link floated back into view with his paraglider.

"Not good," he reported, showing her the photos he'd taken with the Sheikah Slate.

Zelda puffed out her cheeks in frustration. There was definitely more, and she still had no way of destroying it.

"You should have come here yesterday, with the King. You could have checked the growth changes daily." Link opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "Don't worry, I know you didn't decline because of me. If they wanted to send me a message, then they succeeded. I should have known it would be like this."

The silence that fell then was different to the others. Zelda could feel Link's eyes on her as she jotted down some notes, and when she looked up he was biting his lip and holding the Sheikah Slate close to his chest.

"What's the matter, Link?" she pressed. "Tell me."

"Have you…" he began slowly. She could tell he didn't want to say the words. "Have you ever thought about why they were upset?"

"If they had reasons, they could have told me."

"But have you?"

Zelda was taken aback. "I mean, I..." she struggled to explain herself. "They told me Vah Ruta was a sacred site for them, perhaps-"

"You have no idea, do you?" Link suddenly blurted out.

" _Excuse me?"_ Zelda hissed, feeling a seething rage build inside her.

"If you'd taken the time to talk to them, to understand," Link offered.

"I have spoken to them!"

He frowned at her pointedly. "Aside from when you need something."

Zelda crossed her arms, and demanded to know where all this was coming from. "What makes you so sure?" she retorted, tone clipped.

Link looked her in the eye, with a glower so intense it made her want to fade into the shadows. "Because it's how you've been treating me," he said.

Cornered, she jumped on the defensive. The quiet disappointment in Link's eyes was enough for her to want to back down - but she had to stand up for herself. "Well I'm sorry for focusing on my research."

"It's all you've been focusing on," he shot back.

Unbidden, memories of her last confrontation with her father rose. She could see his frustrated features, hear the disappointment in his tone.

Defensiveness and hurt coated her voice. "I've been trying to _help_ them!" she shouted. "You - you don't have to do anything! Do you think they would care for you at all if it weren't for Mipha? If she hadn't loved you?"

She had struck true. The pain and disbelief was clear on his face. " _How can you say that_?" he muttered. Zelda had no response. He looked at her expectantly, but no words came. There was nothing she could say now.

Link shook his head, and threw the Sheikah Slate at her feet. He fled the chamber, and Zelda heard the ruffle of his paraglider as he leapt from the Divine Beast.

She sat in Vah Ruta for a long time then, her head in her hands. If she had cried, the tears were long dry now. With no other way of leaving the Divine Beast, Zelda teleported back to Ne'ez Yohma Shrine underneath the plaza. The King's assistant, Larella, was waiting for her at the Shrine entrance, webbed foot tapping impatiently. Zelda was flustered by the woman's unexpected appearance. "H-How did you know I'd be here?"

The Zora looked down her nose at the Princess. "The Champion told us where you'd gone, so we knew you'd turn up eventually," she sneered. "Listen, Princess, you have a week to finish your work in Vah Ruta."

 _One week?_ "W-what then?"

"The King asks that you move on," Larella said. She gave a mocking bow. "Princess," she acknowledged, and walked back up the stairs leading to the Plaza. Zelda clutched the Sheikah Slate to her chest. They had all turned on her: the Zora, the King, Link. The thought made her sob.

 _No_ , she thought, brokenly. _I've turned them against myself._


	4. Jewel

_Red, white, and blue. She's all colour, all song. Wide yellow eyes framed by jewels: jewels on her crown, on her ankle and wrists, jewels all the way down. Her lips move but she doesn't speak. She smiles but she doesn't breathe. Her long fingers entomb a glittering bracelet, shielding it from harm. Her fingers unfurl to reveal - the bracelet is blackened, and marred, and festering with a wound that looks like flesh, and reeks of death. She's encircled in light, she's the centre of the world. Until it all shatters, the light disintegrating into diamond shards that burst like stars. They are suspended above on a vast and empty sky, reflected below on a waveless sea. Then there's a blight in the water, a sluggish growth of fetid corruption - and hatred - and malice. She wails, her lungs pushing air for the first time in one hundred years and…._

Link's eyes snapped open. His pulse was racing, and he gasped for breath as he fought off the vestiges of his nightmare. Silence and darkness blanketed the inn of Zora's Domain. A hundred feet below, the Zora River bubbled and gurgled with an oblivious ease. Link exhaled a long sigh. Slowly, the dream began fade, with reality creeping back and extending its long fingers of familiarity back into his mind. He was shaken, even as the dream drifted away from him and into the darkness that surrounded him. Or...was it a memory? A gentle breeze blew through the Domain, but it was enough to set his skin crawling and his lips a-quiver. He clutched his knees to his chest, peering around the room as his eyes began to adjust to the dim light. The night cast harsh shadows on the luminescent Zora architecture, doing little to put his mind at east. In the next bed over slept a Hylian man, his whistling snores the only sound save the River. If Link closed his eyes and focused, it almost sounded like a song.

Flashes of the dream-memory came back mercilessly. Red, white, blue. _Mipha_. Again. Always. He'd lost others in the attack: all of his friends from the Academy, the other Champions, his father and his mother as well...though with an overwhelming sense of shame, Link realised he could not remember if either of them were alive during the Calamity. His thoughts turned to Prince Sidon and he wondered how many more he would lose before it was done. But still, it was the Princess of the Zora that haunted him, even though he knew she was at rest. _What did I do? What did I say, all those years ago, that she won't leave me be?_

The Princess would know. Would she tell him now? Probably not, after last night-and in any case, Link's stomach turned at the thought of seeing her, let alone speaking to her. With resignation, he determined that he had no choice. In an age past, the hero and the princess were bound by fate - a fate that Link now had to suffer. A surge of relief washed over him as he detected the first rays of sun beginning to blanket the valley.

Link sat on his bed watching the morning come, mentally cataloguing the facts of the time since he woke from the Shrine of Resurrection. He'd been awake at least a year now, he realised. Whenever his birthday was, it had surely come and gone by now - not that it mattered, he knew even less how old he truly was. _Zelda would know_. He pushed the thought out of his mind, though he wondered what else of his the Princess held hostage.

Finally the first full rays of sunlight peeked over the cliffs to the east, and the Domain was awash with light. And where there was light, there was work, and where there was work, the demons of the night would cower.

* * *

 _Day One_

Zelda knelt before the King once more, though this time Dorephan did not tell her to rise. Light pierced the royal audience chamber. It sliced through the frigid morning air and creating the novel sensation of warm sun on cool skin that marked the first days of a long winter ahead. Somehow the ice in the air made the world shine brighter. Colours sprang out at her like old friends seeking an embrace, and sounds - even familiar ones - seemed thicker in timbre, fiercer and harsher against her ears. Even moving felt strange, as though she could glide across the azure marble and glass floors of Zora's Domain. _I'm more likely to slip and fall_ , she mused. It took a concentrated effort to ground herself in the present moment, and raise her head to meet the steady gaze of the Zora King.

"Princess," the King began calmly. "Have you been made aware of our decision?" His entourage of retainers and nobles surrounded him as ever. The aging Zora of the court-who no doubt had likely known her father-were perched like herons on the raised platform around the King's Throne, all peering down at her like she was the last morsel of a hunted feast. What was it her father had once said? _Never show the enemy contempt. Then they know they have affected you_. What she would have done to have him by her side. What wrath she would have brought down just to have a chance at saving him.

"Yes, and promptly," Zelda returned, gathering all the politeness and pleasantness she had in her for this single moment. "Your assistant Larella is most...personable. But I am not contesting the decision."

There were whispers among the court. "Oh?" the King said curiously, clearly taken aback.

"I realise that neither myself nor Link have taken the time to tell you of Mipha's bravery in her final hours. I simply wanted to come before you today to share her story." This somehow caused more scandal than if Zelda had indeed come to contest the King's decision. If there was anything to set the Zora a-twitter it was more information on their Princess. _Maybe they'd love me too, if I had died_ , Zelda thought morbidly.

The scowling dark green Zora was the first to question her. Muzu, she remembered. A close confidant of the King. "What could _you_ possibly add? We know well of Mipha's movements, and we know of her fate from Link."

"Well I-" Zelda started.

"I'm sure the King would be interested in hearing everything there is to say about Mipha," one of the other retainers spoke up. There were nods among the crowd.

"As would we," added another.

 _Is it...working? Are they really listening to me?_

"Go on, Princess," King Dorephan urged. "Tell us what you know."

In truth, Zelda didn't have much to add. But she told them about how quickly Mipha had learned to control Ruta, and her plans for utilising the Divine Beast in ways other than battle. She spoke of all the times she had carted Link off to Zora's Domain for healing from the Princess, and how the two of them would often spend entire afternoons together atop Vah Ruta. She spoke of how their Princess tried to help her unlock her sealing powers, and how despite their differences, Princess Mipha had always been kind, and was a living embodiment to the strong friendship between the Zora and the Hylians.

"I have nothing to offer, I know," Zelda said. "But when the time is right, I will repay the Zora for her bravery. In a way befitting of her."

All the while the King nodded slowly, seemingly unmoved by her story. Zelda noticed however, that some in the court had begun to shed silent tears. "You have confirmed what a treasure she was to us," the King finally said. "For this I am grateful."

Zelda nodded, clasping her hands at her chest. "That is all I wanted." She moved to leave the chamber.

The King was not done. "Princess," he boomed. "Speak truly - you have no objection to our decision?"

Zelda turned back towards the King, and stood before him with all the importance and regality that she could muster. "My father once told me that there are choices we must make when we have no choice at all." The King had been referring to her then-untapped power as always. _You must make the decision_ , he'd said. _Are you truly Princess Zelda of Hyrule?_

"And I have made a decision," Zelda explained. "To help where I can, for as long as I can."

As she left the chamber, she heard those among the Zora sneer. "If you can," one of them drawled. _I can, and I must_ , she thought, keeping her chin high despite the weight she felt.

* * *

Sidon's physical injuries had mostly begun to heal, but the seeping infection of Malice on his body had not. The Princess went to visit him in the infirmary, where she found Link sitting at his side, holding that homemade crossbow of his. The Prince's face lit up when he saw the Hylian princess, while Link's face remained convincingly stoic. Her knight visibly tensed when she walked into the room, quickly hiding whatever he was holding out of sight and stiffly sitting back in his chair. She shot him a withering look. _You can't hide from me, Hero. I know you're surprised to see me here._

"Prince Sidon," she greeted him as she neared the bed.

"Ah, Zelda!" the Prince smiled. "Just the face I wanted to see - it is as if Hylia herself were here, don't you agree Link?"

Zelda laughed nervously, seeing from Link's dour expression that he did not. Ignoring him, she pulled up a silverite chair next to the large waterbed and unhooked her Sheikah Slate. "Show me your arm, Sidon, if you will."

The Prince reluctantly lifted his blankets, and extended out his right arm. The entire length was covered in a web of purple and black vein-like protrusions that pulsed with its own rhythm, as if locked in a dance. Warmth blossomed in her right hand in reaction - and there was no doubting it, the infection was Malice. She gently placed her hand against his wrist, and the Prince winced in pain. The triangular crest shone on her hand with a sparkling brilliance.

"Hmm...if the power reacts, why is it not enough?" she muttered to herself. She tapped at the Sheikah slate, pulled out the compendium, and scrolled through to her notes. A few weeks' worth of research must have culminated in something - something that she could maybe, _just maybe_ , use to help him. Sidon was waiting patiently, his head turned away from his arm in self-disgust.

"Alright, give me your hand," Zelda instructed, cross-checking her notes.

The Prince laughed at that, face suddenly brightening. "So forward, Princess! You know you've yet to reclaim your Kingdom."

"Or," Zelda was unphased. "I can let this corruption slowly kill you." _How does he do that?_ she wondered. _How does he go from so sorrowful to so full of life?_

The zora obliged her without another word and Zelda interlaced their fingers so that their hands were palm to palm. She looked back to Link, who was silently regarding them both, his features twinged with concern. Sidon too looked at her with anticipation. She began to explain. "In my research over the past few weeks, I've found that sustained exposure to my powers would cause the Malice to 'calm' for a time. I never succeeded in destroying it, but perhaps I can relieve your pain, or slow the spread."

"I trust you," Sidon nodded, his faith in his Hylian friends apparently unwavering as ever.

Zelda closed her eyes and thought of her childhood, and of the last time she saw her mother alive. How proud and striking the woman had looked, bathed in the morning light that streamed through the tall windows of her chambers. How she had taken Zelda's hands in her own and reassured her daughter that no matter what happened, no matter their individual fates, neither of them would ever truly be alone. _Once you have known love, little one, loneliness can never take root_. Zelda knew deep down it was a lie, but the memory fed her power all the same.

When the light faded, Zelda opened her eyes and looked apprehensively at Sidon. She released his hand, and the Prince flexed his long fingers. He gingerly moved his arm back and forth, a wide smile growing on his face. The web of Malice had seemed to recede, if only slightly.

"Are you certain you aren't the Goddess herself?" he beamed. "That was incredible! If you did want to propose, now would be the time, Princess!"

Zelda had almost had enough of Sidon's flattery. Flustered, she attempted to protest, "Oh, no, I couldn't, not until-"

"You'd upset your fan club," Link chimed in nonchalantly, the suddenness of his voice sending a jolt down Zelda's spine.

The Prince blinked at them. "...I have a fan club?"

Zelda wasn't sure what the believe. She chewed her lip, trying to think of something courteous to say to ease the air of awkwardness that filled the room. Behind her Link was looking off to the side, suppressing an amused smile. And then Zelda laughed, and she heard Link snigger as well, though they were both upstaged by the Prince's roarous belly laughs at a joke he didn't fully understand. And just as ferociously as they began, the Prince's laughs were overcome by ragged coughs. He shivered, and pulled his blankets back over himself.

"How are you feeling, Sidon?" Zelda asked.

"Just fine, thanks to you!" the Prince said, his face awash with worry despite the twinkling grin he gave them. "I shall be back on my feet in no time."

But that was not what she saw. She had to face the truth, as much as she didn't want to. The Zoran prince looked worse: worse than he appeared when they had first seen him; worse than he seemed a week ago; worse than the day prior when she'd seen him slowly sauntering around the Domain during Champion Festival. There was a noticeable pallor to his scales, dulling what she assumed was his usual crimson to an almost pink hue. His eyes were baggy from lack of sleep, and the ivory scales of his front were mottled with rippling red blotches. Not only that, but his intermittent shivering continued.

They bid Sidon a good rest, and together she and Link left the infirmary. Before the knight could silently skulk away, she caught him by the arm. The words were on her lips; afraid as she was to say them, this was not a time of choices - only truths.

"He's dying, Link," she whispered.

The knight did not turn, and did not pull away. "I know," was all he said.

"What should we do?" she asked him, knowing there was no answer. Desperation made her believe that perhaps Link knew. That he would turn, take her hands in his and reassure her as though she were a child again. The knight said nothing; he pulled himself free of her grip, and disappeared down the hall.

* * *

 _Day Two_

"So, Dento makes all the jewelry?" Link asked Sidon the next morning. They sat together by Mipha's statue - the Prince content to watch the bustle of Zora's Domain by day, while Link worked on tweaking the firing mechanism for his crossbow. Despite his success in getting the weapon to fire, he had yet to figure out how to get it to fire straight. Until then, the growing throng of octoroks below the Domain could rest easy.

"Oh, for as long as I can remember, yes," the Prince answered. "He doesn't even have an apprentice. Dento still has a few decades in him yet."

Link pointed up towards Mipha, to the stylized heart-shaped bracelets she wore. "He made those?"

"None other," the Prince answered. "The loss of those jewels is a lingering tragedy in my family. Once Ruta is safe to board, we will find them, Link."

Link stared up at the statue, uneased by its likeness, and focused on the bracelets. Yes - they were the same as the one he'd seen in his dream. The pinpricks of familiarity were at him again, taunting him with a memory he couldn't reach. The bracelets...something had happened with them, all those years ago. He latched onto whatever small details he could. It had happened here in the Domain, he had been young, and whatever it was it made him feel strangely happy.

Link broke his pensive silence. "Do you remember much of your sister?"

The Prince paused to consider his answer. "Not as much as I would like," he admitted, looking down. "Even for the Zora, one-hundred years is a long time."

Link pushed further. If there was a chance the Prince help him recover this memory, he would take it. "Do you remember me when I was younger?"

Sidon smiled down at him, his toothy grin almost a little wild-looking. "Of course! Though I was quite young at the time. I remember you spent the summers at the Domain."

Link knew that much. With anticipation he questioned the Prince further. "Anything stand out from those summers?"

The Prince looked back up at his sister. For a long moment he seemed deep in thought, though his face was mournful. "No," he finally said. "Only that they were happy,"

Link wasn't sure if he felt truly disappointed. The Prince had lived a long life, numbering many more years than Link. One incident on an afternoon among an archive of summer afternoons probably stood out no more than what the Prince took for supper the night before.

Across the plaza he caught a glimpse of golden hair, and saw that the Princess was coming their way. She was the picture of determination, her Sheikah Slate held against her chest as she marched towards them. Not wanting her to see him in a sullen mood, he excused himself from Sidon's company, and fled to Dento's workshop before the Princess could reach them.

Dento was adding the finishing touches to the fletching of the specially-made crossbow bolts. He insisted on doing this one task for Link, since as he put it, fletching was an art that was significantly more complex than sticking some Rito feathers to a stick. And, that if Link wanted to learn, it would take much longer than the week he had left at the Domain. _Less than a week now_ , Link realised with an inward frown. He took a bundle of bolts and gave the old Zora his sincere thanks, but not before the smith inspected the progress on his crossbow.

"You learn quickly," he noted, turning the weapon over. "You would have made a good apprentice."

Link looped the Zora's words in his head the whole walk to Vah Ruta. They were another entry into his collection of things to mourn...another drop in the calm seas of regret. Perhaps he could have been a good apprentice. And maybe later, weaponsmith, and a jeweller, and the successor of an old Zora sage. He could have spent more than just the summers in the Domain. He could have built a life. In time, making jewelry for his would-be wife, and sitting in the sun with his brother-in-law in a Kingdom wholly encompassed by peace. _Is that what I wanted?_ He wouldn't ever know now.

Link pushed the thoughts away, down beneath the chorus of other worries. The haunting dream, Sidon, the Princess...even by day he was filled with dread, lost in a place he knew he should know. And for all the summers, long afternoons, and days in the sun that he had spent at Zora's Domain, none of it felt real. None of it felt familiar. But at least - at least - he could be alone up on Ruta's Plateau, with his crossbow contraption and two dozen octo balloons ripe to become targets, and just be _the hero_ for once.

And of course when he came over the lip of luminous wind-weathered rock at the edge of the wide plateau, he saw _her_ , and her crown of sun-gold hair.

* * *

Zelda felt her pointed ears burning before she even heard the crunching of rock under boots. Evidently the peace she'd expected to find at Ruta's Plateau was not to last.

"I thought you were with Sidon," his voiced echoed across the plateau.

Zelda cocked an ear in his direction, not looking away from her notes. "I was, and then I came here. The Travel Gate on Vah Ruta is still active."

She could hear the rising frustration in his voice, though his words were clipped. "You shouldn't have. It's dangerous,"

Zelda laughed. "Please - Lady Ruta can't even move, let alone hurt anyone."

"Sidon was attacked here."

That was enough to make her turn, fury and fear bubbling up inside her. "Well that's the first I've heard," she scolded. "What do you mean he was attacked?"

"It means you aren't safe alone."

"So. I've. Heard," she enunciated, voice dripping with poison. Ignoring his exasperated sigh, Zelda returned her attention to Ruta, and to her Sheikah slate. From the sound of his receding footsteps, she figured he'd had enough as well.

Overhead, the sun crept towards the western skies. Zelda tried to focus on simply enjoying a respite by the deep pool of water as she idly watched Ruta's readings transmitted through her Sheikah Slate. There was nothing to report, and nothing to note down. Ruta was stable - still in a low energy state and entirely immobile - but in no danger of malfunctioning or breaking down. The Divine Beast could rest on the plateau for another hundred years, so long as the Malice within her never breached her ancient walls.

There was a rustling behind her, and the floating sound of hushed mutterings coming from what she assumed was the knight's direction. Zelda peered around to see that he was busy lining up a row of octo balloons, as if they were ducks for the hunt. He then measured out a ten-step firing line, and raised, loaded, and fired that crossbow of his. A bolt soared past the bloated balloons, whistling almost pathetically as it disappeared into the valley. He pulled another from his quiver: draw, load, _pwiiiish_. Draw, load, _phwap!_ One of the balloons exploded into fuschia-coloured scraps of rubber innards.

"Huh," Zelda muttered to herself. "He managed to get it to work."

She turned back towards Ruta, not wanting to stare. From what she heard however, the crossbow was not yet firing true. More of the bolts gave a long whistle than a pop, followed by a few grumbles of frustration from the knight. _He'll run out of arrows soon_ , she realised. Link and Zelda had been on eggshells with each other - doing their best not to offend each other, and doing their best to pretend not to be offended - and after two days Zelda no longer cared whose fault it all was. Perhaps a small peace offering was in order.

Tapping through the menus of the Sheikah Slate, Zelda pulled up the inventory function, and selected three regular arrows. They materialised above the slate in a bundle of shining blue light and fell into her lap. Not entirely sure what she was doing, Zelda snapped each arrow in half, and kept the fletched pieces. And then - still unsure, with her hand unsteady - she held the splintered tips up to her right palm, and _seared_ them with a concentrated pulse of energy. She cleared her mind, feeling the world around her blacken as all other distractions fell away, and focused her power into something that could _mould_ as well as burn. She felt a click - a disconnect - as the world slipped away underneath her. It lasted no longer than a blink. And then it was done, the splintered tips were rounded and consolidated, and in her hands she held three makeshift crossbow bolts.

She sprang to her feet, forgetting that she and Link hadn't exchanged a single word in the past hour that they were (technically) in each other's company.

"I did it!" she exclaimed as she bounded over. "Look!"

From his reaction, it was possible he had forgotten she was even there. He spun on his heel, his right hand reaching instinctively for the sword on his back, and he seemed to freeze when he saw her.

She held out the trio of bolts. "Take them, I want to see if they work!"

Wide-eyed, the knight looked down at the bolts, and then back to her. "You made these?"

"Mm. I think maybe the technique can be refined, and if I'm honest it made me feel quite dizzy, but they should be-"

"You made these for me?"

Zelda nodded, worried that she'd done a horrible job; that her makeshift bolts looked ridiculous and were entirely unusable. Link took one from her hands, spun it around deftly to examine her handiwork, and then nocked it into the crossbow. In his row of balloons there were only three left. After a second to aim, he fired, and an octo balloon disappeared with a succinct _phwap!_

Zelda could have sworn she saw the knight smile. "Not bad," he said, taking another bolt from her hands and loading it into the crossbow. Link fired at the second last octo balloon, and again the bolt easily found its target. "Magic," he breathed.

"Magic," Zelda agreed. She handed him the last crossbow bolt, but this time he did not load it into the crossbow.

"How's Sidon?" he asked, tucking the bolt into his quiver.

"Unchanged, I think. I was trying again with the power. Easing his pain."

Link raised his crossbow, inspecting the latch that held the drawstring. "Kind of you," he said.

"I learned a very long time ago not to force myself upon a solution. If I cannot heal him, then I can make him comfortable," Zelda explained. "And if I cannot heal Ruta either...then I can just try to make both of the comfortable,"

Link lowered his crossbow and gazed solemnly out over the landscape. "Make him comfortable…." he muttered.

"I'm sorry," Zelda said. "I was - last week - I was being unfair. And now your friend is very ill. I can see with clarity now how unhappy you are. I brought you home...and then I made it horrible for you."

"Our friend. Sidon is our friend," Link said quietly. "And you've been good to him, with no thanks from me."

He lifted his head and met her eyes with his own; Zelda felt her breath hitch. She had nearly forgotten the fierceness that hid behind those calm blue eyes of his - they way they _saw_ , as well as looked. "I should have been looking out for you. Helping you with the Zora."

She placed a hand on his shoulder, finding a quiet fondness for the warmth of him, as well as a ruminating, near-constant disbelief. _You are here;_ we _are here_. How long she had spent in that wretched sanctum, watching in fear that he might perish again.

She gave his shoulder a squeeze, and returned her hand to her side. "Help me now. Help me do some good, and make our Prince happy."

Link nodded, and gave her a small smile - though she knew it was genuine.

A red-orange light had swept across the sky, smooth as a painter's brush. The aquamarine rocks of Ruta's Plateau were tinged with a radiant amber hue, and the waters of the Zora River below sparkled under the waning light. They stood together, watching the changing colours, a peace having settled between them. _This is how it should be_ , Zelda thought, and she felt that perhaps Link was feeling it too.

After a time, and with reluctance, Zelda broke the silence. "Does he really have a fanclub?" she asked shyly, still unsure if she had heard that correctly.

Link chuckled. "Yep," he grinned. And then Zelda was laughing too, their soft giggles echoing down the canyon, between the rocks and crags, to the river below.

* * *

 _Day Five_

Their routine changed. For the third day since their reconciliation, Link and Zelda left Vah Ruta undisturbed. In the mornings, they broke their fast with Sidon, before Zelda administered her magical treatment. Sadly it didn't seem to be healing the infection, and if it was slowing it, they could not tell. But Sidon reported that it numbed the pain almost entirely, and that this very moment was the best he had lived in his entire life. Zelda noted his enthusiasm and joy like committing formulas to memory, hoping to store and reuse it later. The weight on her felt heavier than ever somehow, and no matter the minor happiness she found during the day, the heaving feeling in her chest never seemed to fully leave her.

In the afternoons, she helped Link modify arrows for his crossbow. He was still learning to fire it with accuracy and speed, so her job as part of his crossbow training was snapping regular arrows in half and burning the splintered shaft with her powers. Perhaps she did something else to them - made them shoot straighter, or swifter, but she couldn't quite tell. Then they would hike to Ruta's Plateau together, tie octo balloons along the cliff's edge, and Zelda would watch as the knight dispatched the balloons one by one, keeping an eye on Ruta's readings to make sure that she truly was stable. By the third day, Link determined that he was ready to take on the octoroks that still lived.

And in the evenings, Zelda sought out however many Zora that would talk to her. Guards, children, shopkeepers, and nobles- she pried them all for stories on the past one hundred years, and the state of the Domain. It took a little while, but eventually some began to open up, and Zelda dutifully jotted down their stories. Somewhere along the way, she became the unwitting second-ever Hylian to join the Prince Sidon fanclub.

"Pardon, but who was the first?" she inquired the garnet-skinned Zoran woman named Luna.

"Link, of course!" Luna giggled. "At this rate, we'll sign up a third in no time."

 _Why does none of this surprise me?_ Link of course, denied the allegation outright. She interrogated him as they sat together in one of the gazebos, taking a supper of grilled salt-fish at the end of the fifth day. Link avoided her question by stuffing his face with fish every time she asked.

"I didn't realise the Prince was so popular. Is he betrothed?"

With a mouth full of fish, Link had no option but to shrug.

"No, you must know, you talk to him all the time."

Link shook his head, mumbling a "nope" through full cheeks.

"I know you're lying," Zelda squinted at him. "I'm on to you, Hero."

He looked at her with coy, innocent eyes, before digging into another morsel of fish.

* * *

 _Day Six_

On the sixth day, their morning session with Sidon never came to be. Zelda met Link at the Inn, and as they walked towards the infirmary together, the quiet of the morning was shattered by a frightful wail that echoed throughout the Domain. It was one of the nurses; she came scrambling into the Plaza, and raced over to Link and Zelda.

"Champion! Champion! Princess!" she cried, her hands balled into fists. "The Prince!"

They both sprinted to the infirmary, splashing through the watery halls with frantic desperation. But there was nothing to be done. Sidon was comatose, and both Zelda and Link's attempts to wake him were in vain. Even a last-ditch use of Mipha's Grace did nothing. Link was sure that Mipha was in the room with them, watching their failure to save her brother. Link looked over and saw Zelda's face was determined, despite the tears the drifted down her cheeks. He could tell the cogs were turning, as her instinct to find a solution - _any_ solution - kicked in. He felt his instincts rise as well, wanting nothing more than to protect both her and Sidon. The web of Malice around the Prince's arm pulsed angrily, the putrid fluid of corruption churning under his skin. It was almost enough to make Link vomit.

Link turned to Zelda. "What should we do?"

"What can we do?" she said calmly. "That is the better question."

The Princess suddenly turned to leave, and Link followed hurriedly behind. They burst into the central chamber of Zora's Domain, interrupting a meeting between the King and his retainers.

"King Dorephan!" Zelda called out to him. She did not bow. "It's Sidon."

The King seemed to ignore them, muttering in a low voice to his retainers. On his word, they dispersed, and returned to sit in their positions in the gallery. "I have heard," he said flatly, as if the news was no more a bother than a passing dorner. "The commotion was heard throughout Zora's Domain."

Zelda was breathless. "It's the Malice. I'm worried he doesn't have long." Zelda kneeled then, all but dropping to her knees. Link followed suit, kneeling beside her.

"We are due to leave the day after tomorrow, but I beg of you that we are given more time to treat Sidon," she pleaded.

"The _Prince_ ," the King corrected pointedly, "has been unaffected by your help. Our healers have been working on a cure since we found him. They will find a way. In the meantime it is not unexpected that his condition will worsen."

"King Dorephan, the Prince - your _last child_ \- is dying. You must let us stay. You must let me try again to destroy the Malice. It cannot be healed with elixirs and poultices, it's...it's just not the same thing."

The King regarded them with a vacant and contemptuous expression. "I would need time to reach a verdict," he said. "After all, we thought you were not contesting my decision."

"You don't have a choice, you said, as we recall," interjected Muzu from his place in the gallery.

" _You_ don't have a choice!" the Princess retorted.

"We have no proof that what you are saying is true," Muzu returned her fire.

Zelda pointed to the east. "The reservoir!" she challenged. "Built 10,000 years ago by our ancestors, as a sign of the bond between our kingdoms. That it still stands is testament; you _must_ help me, and you must let me help you!"

Link could not help but admire the Princess' strength-to stand before a King and his court, to lecture him on his own history. Memories from one hundred years ago had brought him flashes of a doubt-filled girl not ready to be what she was destined to be; that girl seemed all but gone now. But the King did not relent, and eventually ordered them both to leave him be. Zelda led them back to the infirmary, where she sat vigil by Sidon's side, her hands wrapped around his as though by will alone she could heal him.

 _You don't have a choice_ , Link thought. There must be to be something he could do. He needed a solution fast, or Sidon's likeness would join his sister's in the plaza, and likely the Zora and Hylians would never again be allies. He looked to the Princess and understood that it was her strength that he needed.

Link quietly asked to borrow the Sheikah Slate - Zelda simply nodded, her attention fixed on Sidon. And when enough time had passed that she would not notice him leave, Link snuck away from the infirmary. He opened the Sheikah Slate map, and found the small glowing symbol that marked Vah Ruta's travel gate. He activated the teleport function, and held his breath.

If he was going to be honest with himself, he had no real plan. So Link used a method that seemed to epitomise his life so far: he went back to the start.

He stood at the flooded entry to the chamber that housed Ruta's main control unit, and watched the pulsing blue glow of the terminal. Zelda had rightly pointed out when they first came here that Link had no knowledge on how to pilot Vah Ruta. But if he could just move her somehow, force her to stand so that she was more easily explored, then perhaps their research into the Malice could start again in earnest. And from there, they would have one day to figure it out….

 _You don't have a choice_ , Link repeated to himself every time he doubted his plan. He owed it to Mipha to clear her Divine Beast of the corruption; he owed it to Sidon for being his first friend when he awoke...and he owed it to Zelda for...well, this was really the least he could do for _her_.

Link crouched at the water's edge, and closed his eyes to focus. He drew out the image of a soaring Rito and the feeling of a great gale, and felt the surge of power as a rushing updraft erupted underneath him. The Rito Champion's sardonic face came to mind as Link whipped out his paraglider and was launched towards the ceiling of the chamber, high above the flooding waters. Deep down below the main control unit continued its rhythmic blinking, and after taking a second to line himself up, Link let go of his paraglider.

The water surged upwards to meet him, and he broke through the surface with a clean dive, tearing through the dark waters. The faint glow of the main control unit had become a shining beacon of light, and Link swam with all of his strength down towards the terminal. He held the Sheikah Slate out in front of him as he fought his way down, and reveled in the rush of adrenaline that came from the icy waters and daring dive. _For them_ , he thought as he felt his lungs begin to give out. _For Mipha...for Sidon...for Zelda._

The terminal flashed a brilliant orange and blue as finally, Link reached it, extending the Sheikah Slate. Immediately, he felt an earth-shattering rumble that shook the entire chamber. And then he was slammed into the main control unit, the pitch back waters rushing past him and out towards Ruta's stern. _It's working!_ Link realised. He had to grip onto the control unit to stop from being flushed out of the chamber through the wide windows that lined Ruta's outer walls, but eventually the waters receded almost entirely, exposing the main control unit to air at last. Link toppled down onto the stone platform surrounding the terminal, and coughed violently as he gasped for breath.

And then it was over. He lay on the platform - soaking wet and exhausted - until his breath returned to him and he found the strength to stand. But when he stood, he saw that somehow by the Goddess's grace, his plan had worked. For the first time in nearly half a year, Vah Ruta floated level with the waters that surrounded her, and the flooding waters that had prevented piloting her were entirely gone.

 _Did I...did I do that? How?_

He looked around the large chamber, and found it almost entirely clear of Malice. And then he saw, tucked away in the corner - perhaps having always been there, or perhaps having been washed into the chamber by the receding waters - a shining silver bracelet, adorned with the shape of a heart.

* * *

 _It was the summer he turned eighteen. The last last summer he would ever see in Zora's Domain, and he was finally starting to look, and feel, like an adult. His friends, the youth of the Zora, had always marvelled at the speed at which he grew, as he returned at the end of each spring a few inches taller and a decent amount stronger. Though to his frustration he was never able to outpace them in the waters. The boys - Rivan, Gaddison, and their leader Bazz - always insisted on challenging him to races through Zora River, taunting him that this time might be the first time he wins._

 _And it was Mipha who was the voice of reason. She and her friend Kodah had always tried to talk him out of it, but he never listened. He was nearly a man, and freshly accepted in the Knight Order at Hyrulean Academy like his father and father's father before him. However this summer brought new things to attract his attention - for suddenly the Princess of the Zoras' calm pleas for him to stay back with her were more appealing than the glory of out-swimming the group of Zora boys. Her little brother Sidon, still a small fry, had followed them down to the Bank of Wishes southwest of Zora's Domain, and was mumbling happily to himself as he dangled his feet in the waters._

 _They'd been sitting together on the bank, shoulders just kissing, and Link felt like either his chest was going to give out or he was going to be sick. If this was what love was, he wasn't sure if he couldn't get enough, or wanted it to just go away. Mipha didn't seem to notice his internal panic, and was focused on examining one of her bracelets. A slender silverite bangle fashioned into the shape of a love heart, it had been pinching her skin at the hinge, and so she'd removed it. As Link and Mipha sat together, chatting quietly and enjoying the sun, Sidon caught sight of fox around the bend of the bank, and darted away to chase after it. His big sister leaped to her feet to chase after him, and judging by her exasperated pleas, was struggling to catch him. The siblings disappeared around the bend, and Link was alone. He picked up the little bracelet, and admired the workmanship._

 _That was when they turned up. The whole crew: Bazz, Rivan, Gaddison, and Kodah, all racing through the waters._

" _Whatcha got there, Linny?" Kodah called to him as the four of them advanced up the bank._

" _What's this?" Bazz teased, marching up and snatching the bracelet from Link's hands. "I recognise this. This is Mipha's." The Zora glowered at Link. "Did she give this to you?"_

 _Link opened his mouth to speak, but Bazz cut him off. "Wouldn't want to lose this, would we Linny?"_

 _Link moved to take the bracelet back, but the taller Zora held it out of reach, snorting with laughter as Link jumped to try and retrieve it. The Zora's face suddenly dropped, and with his free hand he shoved Link to the ground._

" _She'll never be yours, Hylian," Bazz spat. "You're just a novelty to her, and it wouldn't matter either way - your kind die well before ours."_

 _Later, Link wouldn't recall leaping to his feet and tackling the Zora boy, but the fierce bruises that spotted his body in the fight's aftermath would tell the story well enough._

 _Mipha's voice rang out through the valley. "Stop!" she cried. Link and Bazz sprang apart, the bracelet all but forgotten. They both mumbled hurried apologies, but the Princess ignored them. Sidon in tow, she walked over to the edge of the bank, and pulled her bracelet free of the mud and silt where it had become lodged, entirely forgotten in the fight. And Link saw, marking one of the heart shapes, a visible dent and scratch. Mipha ran a finger over the bracelet, tracing the spot where it had been damaged._

" _Come, Link," she said. "It's time I escorted you back to your family."_

* * *

Link picked up Mipha's bracelet from its resting place in Vah Ruta, and thumbed a small black dent that marred one of the heart shapes. The memory it conjured was a diamond among the dirt. A single piece of clarity in a muddied world. Mipha had never even scolded him, never snapped, never so much as expressed her disappointment. They had walked back to Zora's Domain together, where she took his hand in her own and apologised for the behaviour of the other Zora.

 _It's just a scratch_ she had said, slipping the bracelet back on. _Something we can look back on, and laugh about._ She must have kept the bracelet ever since. She must have died wearing it.

The dam broke, and the sea of regrets and sorrow that Link had been holding in spilled out of him. He nearly dropped the bracelet again, seized by a twisting feeling in his chest. It was worse than a punch to the gut, worse than the uncountable times he'd been knocked off of his feet. He was completely winded, gasping like a fish drowning in the sun. He fell to his knees, and his tears mixed with the shallow waters that filled the chamber.

 _If anyone tries to do you harm_ … _no matter when, or how bad the wound…._

The sobs racked him; they came in unceasing and rolling heaves like waves on a stormy sea. It was enough to pull him under, and maybe that was what he wanted. After a time though, he quieted to soft whimpers, and eventually silence as a feeling of numbness encased him. The worst part of it all was that he couldn't quite grasp what made him feel like this. Just like everything else, it was just out of reach. A few weeks ago he'd wanted nothing more than to remember, but the more he remembered, the more he wished he'd died with the rest of them. _You should have let me_ , he thought, the sweet and radiant face of Princess Zelda coming to mind. _I died at the Fort. I failed, but I failed as myself. You should have just accepted it_.

He knew the thoughts were cruel, but he wanted to indulge in them anyway. A new round of tears followed, though this time they brought no sobs; just a dull sense of pain. After a time, he closed his eyes.

"Link?"

Her voice pulled him back to earth with a thud. Link startled to his feet, his hand instinctively reaching back for his sword, as if she could ever do him any harm. She was carrying a small lantern, and Link realised that night had fallen. _How long...?_

"Someone told me that Vah Ruta had moved, and I came as soon as I could. But you - how long have you been here?"

He couldn't speak. There was no place he could begin. His face was likely still puffy and red from the tears, and his body raw from the pain, Link couldn't even look at her. She stepped towards him, the lantern illuminating her face with a harsh shadow. "Link? Are you okay?"

Zelda stepped forward again, and Link backed away from her, still unable to look her in the eye. "Don't," he sobbed. "Please."

Link heard her slot the lantern onto her belt. She must have seen Mipha's bracelet in his hand, as well as the tears on his cheeks, for she sighed. "Oh. Oh, no...I'm so sorry, Link."

Zelda again stepped towards him, backing him into the wall where there was nowhere for him to go. She wrapped her hands around his, lifting them so that she could look at the bracelet. It glittered in the light from her lantern, and Link felt another surge of grief.

"It's beautiful," Zelda murmured. "And so elegant. Just like her to wear something like this."

Link nodded with a sniff. Zelda let go of his hands, though he could not move, and stood holding the bracelet between them. He looked up, slowly meeting her eyes, and saw the pity and sorrow written on her face. It sent a wave of embarrassment through him. She should never have seen this side of him. No one ever had. And yet, he had no one else to talk to.

Link mustered the courage to speak. "I think...I think I did love her. Why else would I...?" his voice trailed off into a weak mutter.

"There is no grief without passion. My governess told me when my mother died," Zelda offered softly, looking down at the bracelet. "And no passion without grief."

Link let out a reedy laugh, feeling absurd as more tears began to fall. He took a deep breath.

"I don't want these memories anymore," he whispered, choking back his sobs. "Take them away, please."

"Link…" Zelda sighed, eyes shining, her own tears budding at the corners of her eyes.

"Do you ever feel like it's unfair?" he blurted out. "That we lived?"

"All the time. Every day. Every hour. Wondering why the Goddess chose to keep me alive when so much of it was my fault," she looked up at him with remorse in her eyes.

"No," Link said firmly. He lowered his hands. "You did what was best for your kingdom."

"My kingdom," Zelda repeated, suddenly overcast.

She looked around the chamber, turning to observe the entire room. "You piloted Vah Ruta," she observed. "Or perhaps, Mipha programmed in a sort of reset. Once Ruta's job was done, the main control unit could be scanned to return her to a neutral state."

"Sounds like something she'd do," Link offered.

"You didn't have to do this alone," Zelda said, turning back towards Link. "Activating the terminal couldn't have been easy. I...I could have helped. If I'd just had the courage to let you try."

His grief was receding, and no matter what he felt in that moment, they had work to do. Link walked over towards the main control unit, taking out the Sheikah Slate. "I think it's time we work together on this," he said. "We have until tomorrow to clear out the Malice."

"Only if you're feeling okay," Zelda jogged to join him. "You know, I didn't know you wanted to help my research."

Link shrugged. "Neither did I."

* * *

"Okay, Link, this is me asking what you think," Zelda stood in the now-righted central chamber of Vah Ruta, once again examining a wretched pool of Malice.

Link stood at her side. "I've had an idea for a while."

"Tell me."

The knight drew the Master Sword. Zelda couldn't stop herself. "We've gone over this, the Sword-"

He held up a finger, and then outstretched his free hand. "Take it."

"Your hand…?"

Link nodded. Cautiously, Zelda obliged. His hand was warm, a welcome source of heat in the chilly Divine Beast. Night had well and truly fallen by that point, and Zelda dreaded making the hike back to the Domain in the dark.

"There's a Rito bard who helped me out, when I was travelling around," Link explained. "His songs always had some meaning. And he had one last one to give me, right before I came to get you."

"What did he say?" Zelda asked with trepidation.

Link recited the words. "'The hero - the princess - hand in hand, must bring light to the land.'"

"You think it was a message?"

Link just shrugged. "It's not much to go on."

"Maybe it wasn't this literal," Zelda pondered. She was beginning to feel uneasy simply standing there hand in hand. "But what if? What if it meant we need to work together, like you said." She turned to face him, pulling her hand away from his with a sense of relief. "You're the hero. What does the hero do?"

Link thought for a second. "...kill things?" She shot him an unimpressed scowl. "Wield the Master Sword?" he offered.

"Okay. And what does the princess do?"

Without missing a beat, he answered, "Boss Link around."

Her scowl worsened. "Excuse me?"

" _I mean_ \- magic. The Princess does magic."

 _The sword, and the magic._ It seemed too easy, but why need it be so complex? For so long her own powers had eluded her, and day by day they were becoming second nature. "Maybe that's it," she concluded, the creeping sense of realisation growing within her. "We've tried the sword, and we've tried magic. But never both together."

Link nodded, and held the Master Sword in out in front of him, the blade pointing downwards. He wrapped both hands around the hilt, and motioned for her to do the same.

"The sword that seals the darkness," he said.

"And the sealing power of the princess," Zelda finished, wrapping her hands around his. "Sounds so obvious, doesn't it?"

Link looked down at the sword. "So...what do we-"

"Just focus on the sword and on the power that it carries. I think I can manage the rest."

The knight nodded, and closed his eyes. Zelda followed, and focused her power to the blade of the sword that they wielded together. She felt the heat rising through the hilt, and just as before, felt herself spliced from the fabric of reality. She focused on the light - and on the small morsels of joy she had felt during her life - and an enduring _wish_ to see Vah Ruta returned to her true state. Though she could not see it, she could sense an intense aura of energy and light beginning to emanate from the sword at the point where hers and Link's hands crossed. Thoughts raced through her mind unbridled as she drew on every feeling she had to bolster her power.

 _My mother surrounded by light._

 _My father at the height of his reign._

 _My knight ready to die so that I may live._

 _My kingdom returned to the sun._

Zelda opened her eyes and saw that all around them was a blinding golden light. It surged outwards, enveloping the entire chamber, and soon, the entire Divine Beast itself. Link's eyes opened slowly as well, and went wide as he marveled at what he saw.

Their gazes met, and Link smiled. A true smile, rich with pride

Around them, the shining sphere shattered, and before the light could even begin to dim, Zelda collapsed against the stone floor.

She came to bundled up in Link's arms, the soft sounds of his voice pulling her back into consciousness.

"You did it," he was saying. "You did it."

Sundered by the ritual, and struggling to anchor herself in the present, Zelda gazed up sleepily at the ceiling of Vah Ruta. She sat up gingerly, and peered around the room. Her mouth fell open, and she gaped like a child gazing up at the sky.

There was not a single trace of Malice anywhere to be seen. Every pool and growth was gone, and somehow the air inside Vah Ruta was purer. The Divine Beast seemed as if she was just as new-the way she could have been those 10,000 years ago.

Link and Zelda caught each other's eyes, and before they could say anything else, a single name was on both their lips.

" _Sidon!_ "


	5. Grief

Part Two: Altercation

* * *

Secretary Milagre considered pouring herself another cup of wildwine to stop from going mad before the night was over, but somehow she doubted that any more of the Gerudo liquor would calm her. The Elders of the Yiga - Grihan, Totin, and Barne - had spent the entire evening arguing when Chancellor Leilo would return. Elders though they were, Milagre determined from their spiraling circular arguments that age certainly did not correlate with wisdom. She found herself wondering once more how these men had reached such a high level in the Yiga Hierarchy to begin with. She sat with them around the head table, on a large stone dais at the head of the dining hall. The Yiga Hideout in Karusa Valley extended deeper into the desert stone that one might normally imagine; as much as Milagre wanted to slip away and feel the night air, the desert beyond was too far out of reach.

Her eyes drifted aimlessly from the head table. A mingling of fully-trained bladed Yiga, acolytes, and stewards sat below; the bladed ones in their traditional red soldier's garb, and the others in loose white training gear. She had never seen so many of them at once; Chancellor Leilo had recalled all the bladed Yiga to Karusa Valley for an emergency election of a new Master. There were several dozen bladed Yiga in all, and half as many stewards and acolytes, all as boastful and chaotic as each other. The bladed ones bragged and brawled - one claimed to have met the Hero near Hateno, and another tried to duel him for stealing his story - while the impressionable, still-in-training stewards and acolytes lapped up every story and tall tale. All of them were insatiably drunk, and each night was the same circus of wine and fighting. This _is what Leilo brought upon us_ , _before disappearing into the desert,_ Milagre lamented.

The slamming sound of Grihan's cup hitting the table drew her attention back to the squabbling Elders. "Surely Leilo will return by the end of the week!" he argued.

Chaplain Tieo, who was slumped over the table next to Milagre and passed out from too much to drink, stirred groggily at the noise. She regarded him with disdain. As Chaplain he was _meant_ to lead the teachings of the Yiga's philosophy and history - the evils of the Shiekah and the Royal Family and so on - though since the Calamity his job was far from burdensome, and his philosophy seemed not to extend very far beyond the nearest cup of wine.

"No - not possible," Elder Totin shook his balding head. "Another storm lies on the horizon, bigger than the most recent one. He will not return until we send someone to drag him back here on a sled if need be."

"Don't be ridiculous, you old fool," Grihan spat.

"You're one to call me a fool, Grihan," Totin retorted.

Elder Barne was silent. He had insisted half an hour earlier that Leilo had already chosen the candidates to run for Master, and that his journey into the desert was merely a sabbatical in disguise. But he piped up, "Enough of this!"

When the other Elders ignored him Barne bellowed, "ENOUGH!"

The entire hall went silent, though Milagre detected giggling among a table of acolytes in the far end of the room. She rolled her eyes. "What does it matter?" she sighed.

"No - it should not matter to you, Secretary Milagre," Totin agreed. He shifted in his cushioned seat and extended a wrinkled hand to give her a gentle pat on the arm. "The election of the new Master is out of your hands."

"Be fair, Totin," Grihan cut in. "Secretary Milagre has been dedicated to the Yiga all her young life, and will stay that way no matter who is voted Master. Won't you, child?"

It took all her strength not to scowl at Grihan then - at all three of the elders, and Chaplain Tieo as well.

"But in your _impartial_ view, am I correct, surely?" continued Totin, unphased.

Secretary Milagre ignored him. She wondered about Leilo, and Inglis, but worried more for the boy. He was barely more than a child, and had been sent out into the desert as though he were born to it. Milagre had begged Inglis not to go, to stay until he was strong enough for the task. The steward had not listened, intent on his task, and departed into the desert with the Chancellor and a sled full of supplies the next morning.

Totin and Grihan continued slinging arguments and insults at each other, undeterred by Barne's outburst. _I know when Inglis will be back,_ she wanted to say. _If he will be back_. She felt as though her guts were swimming with poison, as though the room were spinning and her cup of wildwine was the only thing holding her in place. She shook from the nerves, torn with twin emotions of exasperation and anxiety.

At last - _at last!_ \- a voice cried out from the hall's entrance.

"Elders! Chaplain! Come quick!" It was a boy's voice; Milagre turned to look, her face steeled to hide her relief. Perhaps a little more tan than she had last seen him, and with longer hair, the steward Inglis stood at the entrance of the dining hall. He motioned urgently towards the door, his face awash with fear. Grihan, Totin, and Barne all leapt from their chairs, and Milagre followed as quickly as she could. Chaplain Tieo did not stir.

"Inglis?" Grihan boomed, incredulous.

"Elders Grihan," the young steward bowed quickly. "Totin, Barne. I have terrible news."

It was just as Milagre expected. Chancellor Leilo had been murdered by the deserter, the one she knew as the Chief. And somehow, as Inglis explained, he had managed to secure Leilo's murderer and bring him into the valley.

It was almost too much for the Elders. "You brought that deserter?" Grihan demanded. " _Here!?_ "

Inglis retreated from the doorway into the shadowy hallway beyond. Milagre had to crane her neck to see past the group of men before her - but there he was. His hands bound in frayed rope and his mouth gagged with a dusty cloth, the Chief was tied to a sled that Milagre presumed had been dragged all the way into the hideout. His dark eyes leered at them angrily.

Inglis marched over to the Chief, and ripped the gag from his mouth.

"My, my," Grihan hummed. He stalked over to the Chief, his long burgundy Elders' robes trailing behind him. "Deserter, you live. So very rare to see your kind, even here."

The Chief met the Elder with an unwavering scowl. "Glad you missed me," he grimaced, his voice low. Despite being bound, the Chief looked relaxed, sedate even. Elder Grihan hovered over the deserter, and for a second seemed poised to strike him.

Inglish shifted his weight, clearly noting the tension and disgust of the Yiga Elders. "What shall with we do with him, Elder?" Inglis asked Grihan.

Milagre stepped forward. "Bring him into the hall - show the others what happens to deserters."

Grihan nodded in approval, and Inglis cut the deserter's bindings, dragging him by his still-tied hands. For the second time that evening, the dining hall fell silent. Those who remembered the deserter either smiled in predatory pleasure, or gaped in awe that he still lived. The rest could not stop their muttering, and whispers of curiosity.

Elder Grihan stepped up on the dais at the head of the room and raised his hands to quiet the whispering.

"This _boy_ before us is a deserter-" he began. Hushed gasps filled the hall.

Grihan was not given a chance to continue. As if by magic, the deserter's ropes had disappeared, and he leapt away from his captors, disappearing into the dark hallway. The dining hall erupted with cacophonous shouts.

"Catch him!" shrieked Milagre, voice laced with outrage. "He is a traitor, and a thief!" A similar cry to action was echoed by Inglis and the other Elders. All at once, every steward, acolyte, and bladed Yiga jumped from their chairs; the bladed ones disappeared into ethereal red puffs of smoke, while the stewards and acolytes spilled into the hallway. The Yiga stalked their territory with single-minded purpose. Hatred for deserters ran thick, matched almost by their hatred of the Hero.

Minutes dragged on as the Yiga continued their fruitless search. Milagre had moved to stand by Inglis at the entrance of the hideout, away from the roving mass of Yiga intent on dispatching the traitor. Gloomy moonlight flooded the narrow valley, and shadows danced as the Yiga crawled over every rock and crevice searching for the red-headed deserter.

"At the signal," Milagre said to Inglis.

"Good to see you too, Mila," Inglis teased. She elbowed his side, yet for a moment entwined his hand with hers.

From the far end of the valley, Milagre heard the piercing sounds of a war-horn.

"That's it," Inglis murmured, and Milagre nodded in response, retreating silently into the hideout.

Behind her, echoing through the whole of Karusa Valley itself, came the whistling noises of arrows and the faint screams of her former clan mates. She paused in the hallway for a moment, allowing her eyes to well with tears and frantic hysteria to creep into her voice.

"Elders," she sobbed, stumbling once more into the now vacant dining hall. "T-the worst has happened!"

Grihan, Totin, and Barne were crowded around their table, with Chaplain Tieo still asleep where he lay. As she had expected, the Elders had not joined the search - they were too old, or too lazy, even with the deserter in their midst.

"Tell us, girl," Totin demanded. The screams grew louder, as no doubt more of the Yiga began to fall.

"The deserter led our people into an ambush. He had his men stationed atop the rock walls of the valley. Inglis and I - we managed to survive, but the deserter and his people...they are gone," she wrung her hands, and peered up at them through wide and terrified eyes, the picture of alarmed innocence.

The Elders were like statues: Totin sitting at the table with his hands clasped together as if in prayer; Grihan with his head in hand; and Barne leaning back with his burly arms crossed. For nearly a minute they did not move, and the room was silent except for Chaplain Tieo's ragged snores and the intermittent final cries of fallen Yiga. Grihan slammed a fist onto the table in impotent rage, and roared loud enough to startle the poor Chaplain awake.

Grihan's eyes were dark. "You said they are gone?" he snapped, his voice heavy with suppressed rage. Milagre nodded, and wiped away her tears. "Inglis is hurt, Elder. If I may return to him-"

"We will go with you. All of us" Grihan cut in, authoritatively. "We will see what he has done."

Barne helped Chaplain Tieo stand, and the Elders of the Yiga left as a group to the hideout entrance. Milagre lagged behind, and once they had passed the threshold, she reached for a spear that she had hidden by the archway.

In the small cove beyond, Inglis and the Chief stood side by side, an army of bandits at their back. Some wore blue neckerchiefs embroidered in white and red, and others - well others were the stewards and acolytes of the Yiga, still dressed in their now-bloodied white training gear. Milagre stood behind the Elders, and soundlessly leveled her spear at their backs.

Barne was the first to turn; when he saw her spear, he dodged sideways, attempting to disarm her with a clock to the shoulder. Milagre dropped to a crouch and skidded forward, evading his wild right hook. She spun on her heel and drove the point of the spear into his neck; his hands grasped the shaft, desperately and ineffectively trying to free himself before falling slack. The remaining Elders regarded her with horror, and turned slowly back towards the bandits.

"What have you done, Cinelgen?" Grihan said gravely, the Chief's strange name sounding almost sticky on his tongue. Cinelgen drew an arrow from his quiver, and nocked it to his painted Duplex Bow.

"I gave them a choice. Join me in Hyrule Castle, or die in this empty valley, serving their incompetent elders in their failed quest to defeat the Hero."

"Hyrule Castle!?" Totin spat. "You are a fool if you think you can conquer it. It is a ruin - full of Malice and corrup-"

Elder Totin was silenced by a thin arrow to the chest. Another one followed quickly behind the first, finding its mark in Chaplain Tieo. Both men stumbled backwards, and fell hard against the dirt. The Chaplain made no sound, but Elder Totin lay gasping, crying out for mercy.

The Chief gazed on impassively. "Not for much longer, I don't think," he told the dying men. Grihan raised an accusatory finger, trembling with disbelief and wrath.

"You gave them no choice. You are a murderer. Worse than that. Worse than any of us."

Milagre watched as Cinelgen silently drew another arrow, nocked it, and loosed it nonchalantly towards Elder Grihan. There was a wet squelch as it pierced the Elder's chest, and the third elder fell to his knees. Milagre lowered her spear. Totin was calling her name, begging her to help him. The Secretary ignored him, her grey eyes focusing on Inglis. When their eyes met, he gave her a slight smile.

With the last of his strength, Grihan raised his head towards the deserter. "The acolytes...the stewards...they'll never accept you as their Master," he rasped.

Cinelgen shook his head, victory setting his eyes alight. "Not their Master, Grihan. Their Chief."

* * *

Shivering from the chilly morning air, Princess Zelda knelt on the southern bank of the Zora River, at a narrow pass near Oren Bridge. She ran her hands through the water to cleanse them of mud, her fingers clammy and pruny. After over a month in Zora's Domain, mud and silt were no strangers; they were nearly as constant as the rushing of the river. And while Zelda knew that the this place was not truly her home, there was a comfort in being out in the wild and at work, with the sun at her back and the earth between her fingers.

She had spent the past few minutes haphazardly hammering a metal spike into the muddy bank; it had been woven through the corner of a large fishing net, and though she was not particularly strong she had managed to secure it. In the water beyond, Link was swimming across the river with the other corner of the net in hand. His task would have been easier going had they settled on the Bank of Wishes as their site, but when Zelda had suggested it, Link had sternly and suddenly refused. It wasn't worth pushing him, not today. Zelda leaned back to relax and gazed into the water, trying to imagine how the banks might have been shaped by the river over the past hundred years. Had they changed at all? Had anything? What little she had seen of Hyrule since she'd returned seemed characterised by an unchanging peace. A gust of morning air whipped through the ravine, and Zelda drew her arms around herself.

"I said, all done." Suddenly, Link was standing over her. He was still dripping wet from his swim through the river, and was squeezing water from his long, wheat-blond hair. Behind him, Zelda could see that he had managed to secure his end of the net to the opposing bank. It now spanned the river width - ready to harvest the octorok parts that would soon be floating past.

"Oh! Sorry," Zelda murmured, dazed by his abrupt appearance.

Link stopped wringing out his hair for a moment, and gave her a concerned look. "You alright?"

Zelda dismissed him with a wave of her hand and forced herself to stand. "I must have been daydreaming."

They walked together back towards Zora's Domain, where Link retrieved his crossbow and the two dozen additional crossbow bolts that Dento had crafted. Descending to the underbelly of Zora's Domain, the pair was met by the eager greetings of a crimson red Zora. He waved them over, bright fins gleaming in the shafts of morning sun that filtered through the immense, structured columns of the Domain.

"Sidon!" Zelda called out as they jogged over to the narrow outcropping of rock where he stood. "It's good to see you up!"

"It's good to be up!" the Prince pumped his fists, and Zelda felt for the first time that her excitement could match his own. She found herself marvelling at his resilience. Perhaps it was his age, or maybe it was in his Zora blood, but she'd never met an indomitable spirit such as his. After all, not a day earlier he'd been an inch from death.

Following their breakthrough in Vah Ruta, Link and Zelda risked complete dematerialisation to teleport together back to Ne'ez Yohma Shrine, fearful that Sidon did not have the hours it would take them to hike back to the Domain. Their bodies somehow still intact, they ran once more to the infirmary, and combined their power to destroy the Malice that clung to Sidon. Once the toxic substance dissipated, the Prince's yellow eyes had blinked open, and he had managed to flash them one of his trademark toothy grins before easing into a peaceful sleep. The relief between them was so thick they had to lean against each other for support, lest they both simply collapse onto the floor. Link had been tearful with happiness, and while Zelda was glad to have helped, no great joy came for her. They sat by Sidon's bed the entire night, with Link falling asleep on Zelda's shoulder as exhaustion took him. But for some reason, the Princess could not sleep.

Not wanting to push their luck with the King, Link and Zelda decided once morning came that they should depart as had been planned. But first, Link wanted to finish the job he'd started….

"Today is finally the day!" Sidon beamed as Link began to prep the crossbow. "I can't begin to tell you how excited I am."

"You don't need to," Link smiled up at their friend.

All had initially agreed that Zelda and Sidon were to aid Link by alerting him to the presence of octorocs out of his field of vision, with Zelda occasionally stepping in to blast any that Link could not reach. Settling on solid ground nearby, both Zelda and Sidon watched with quiet admiration as Link set about his task. His Hylian shield on his back, and his crossbow gripped tightly in his left hand, the knight resumed his dance with the octoroks. Lit by the glow emanating from the luminous architecture of Zora's Domain, a duo of the pests leapt out of the water, their beady yellow eyes furious and bright. Link quickly sighted and dispatched the first before it could even fire, before drawing his shield off his back to parry the boulder that the second octorok launched his way. The rock ricocheted off Link's shield, hurtling back towards the aquatic pest, and blasted the creature backwards into the river. Zelda and Sidon all but squealed. Link wasted no time; in a single fluid motion, he shouldered his shield, loaded another bolt, spun on his heel to fire at another octorok that had surfaced to his left. Then he turned, and braced for another onslaught from a trio of the creatures that had emerged behind him. Not a single time did he miss, and not a single time did his footing fail him. It was unnecessary for Zelda and Sidon to intervene, and instead they passed the hour cheering him on. The remains of the infestation of octoroks that had overtaken the underbelly were swiftly floating downstream towards the net Link and Zelda had set up earlier.

 _This is what he is,_ Zelda thought with a strange sense of dismay, when it was all done. The thought clouded her mind as they fetched the octoballoons from their collection net and handed them over to Marot to sell in her mart. _What he was born to be_.

Once the job was done, Link and Zelda were finally ready to depart. By now autumn had come for Hyrule, and the plains and valleys that surrounded the Domain had begun to shift in hue, with swatches of oranges, reds, and warm browns beginning to spread throughout the landscape. The mornings were becoming chilly, the days ever so slightly shorter, and the rainstorms heavier. The Zora had no warm clothes to lend her, so Zelda made it a mental priority to acquire a warm winter cloak as soon as possible. Finding her old travel clothes had been hard enough - somehow a set had been preserved in the stores of Hyrule Castle - but there was little to take from that ruined place, and little else she desired.

They bundled up what little they had: food for their journey, flint for their fires, and another two dozen crossbow bolts. As a reward for his service, Dento had specially looked over Link's crossbow, and made some final adjustments as he saw fit. On presenting it to them he declared that it was the first, and the finest, Hylian-made crossbow since the Calamity.

Sidon hailed them as they were crossing the Great Zora Bridge, his strong voice filling the air. He was a pillar of crimson colour against the swath of pale marble and blue tones in the Domain, and seeing him returned to full health was a small but constant source of delight. He approached from the direction of the Plaza, running and waving his long arms frantically.

"Hey! Not just yet, you two," he called out to them. The Zora prince opened his arms wide when he reached them, and declared, "I have one last gift to give. It may not be mine to give, but it is the least you deserve."

"What is it, Sidon?" Zelda asked, tilting her head to the side in curiosity. The Prince then went to one knee and bowed low, his face becoming solemn. Both Zelda and Link stepped backward instinctively, unaccustomed to any form of reverence from the Zora prince.

"I want you to know - no matter what my father thinks, or what the elders think - you have a friend in the Zora, and you have an ally in your new reign," the Prince looked up at them expectantly. Zelda did not know what to say, and of course, Link was silent.

"R-rise," Zelda said meekly. The words felt as though they were stuck in her throat. "I am not your Queen."

Sidon did as he was bid, though his face was still grave. "I hope a time comes when you are," he declared, raising a determined fist. Then he threw his arms wide again, his face perking up with a shining smile. "You two - _you_ are my best friends. If there is nothing else I can give you but my eternal gratitude, then I hope you can accept!"

Beside her Link was smiling. Zelda sighed; somehow none of this felt right. The bowing, the talk of being Queen. "Of course we can," she finally said, doing her best to smile.

They said their final, slightly tearful goodbyes and the pair were off, leaving the glittering halls of the Zora far behind. Yet as they walked away from the Domain, Zelda felt suddenly and wholly afraid. The world around her was a rush of colour, and the sounds were murky and wet as though she were underwater.

She pulled out her Sheikah Slate to map out their journey, and pressed forward.

* * *

Their journey brought them down by the Zora River, around the Lanayru Wetlands to the border of Central Hyrule where the ever-present Hyrule Castle lumbered in the distance. It seemed to shift under its own weight, its image gently swaying in the breeze as though it were a living monolith - the fifth Divine Beast of Hyrule. Link caught Zelda staring out over the plains towards it often, usually when the sun was setting and the castle's lingering decay was cloaked by the low light. He wondered about the Malice that covered Castle Town, or the enormous pools that filled Hyrule Castle. Healing the Divine Beast Vah Ruta had nearly rendered the Princess unconscious - would she have enough strength to perform the feat again, or on a larger scale? Would he? Would the sword? _Perhaps we can ask it,_ he thought wryly. _Apparently it can talk_.

Link had never heard the sword's voice - but a part of him knew he had felt it. An ancient song lived in that sword and gave rhythm to the dance he performed when he fought. If it had a soul, it was no longer distinguishable from his. In the week since he and Zelda had left Zora's Domain, Link seldom unstrapped the Master Sword from his back. In the evenings however he'd lay it down and make sure it was sheltered, so that both he and the sword could rest.

They were camped in Crenel Peak on a small outcrop backed by rolling rocky hills that overlooked Hylia River. Link had hunted a few herons, and had spent the past half hour plucking and preparing them for their supper. When he last checked, Zelda had been sitting by their fire, but when he looked up from his work she was gone. His pulse quickened, the herons forgotten as he scrambled to retrieve his sword where it rested propped against a nearby rock. He darted up over the outcropping and frantically scanned the rolling hills. Every sign of movement or flash of blue gave him a start, and he had to steel himself against the rising tide of panic.

Link found the princess at the river bank, standing knee deep in the rushing water and watching the fish go by. He had half a mind run down and yank her out of the current, but there was an unsettling stillness to her that gave him pause - as though she wasn't observing the water at all.

Quietly so as not to startle her, Link walked to the bank, and sat down by the river, his sword resting against his lap. "You okay?" he asked.

Zelda glanced towards him. "I'm just watching the water." Listlessly, the princess returned to her meditative state as though she were still alone.

It had been like this for almost a week now. She seemed so upbeat on the day they'd left the Domain, but by evenfall something changed. She began to talk less and less, her normal chatter receding to no more than the occasional comment on which road to follow, where to camp and so on. The Princess walked slowly, every footfall measured. Occasionally she would stop to gaze at a cluster of flowers or a frog hopping across their path, but not once did she reach for the Sheikah Slate to record anything they saw. Once or twice he had to nudge her along, managing to pull her briefly out of whatever melancholy had shadowed her. She would smile, apologise for her absent-mindedness, and they would move on.

But by now she was nearly silent, eyes opaque and impenetrable. Link had tried to talk to her, but his comments and questions were so clumsy that even just commenting on the weather felt strained. And no matter what he said, she nodded, and murmured a polite reply, and returned to her musings. How could he even begin to broach the subject of her mood? This was the first time she'd walked off alone, however; the first time he'd seen her doing something as dangerous as walking into the swift currents of Hylia River.

"I'm making supper," Link said, his voice warbling and awkward.

The Princess did not turn. She said nothing. The river swept on before them, and in the unseen distance a frog croaked in the grass.

"Zelda," Link said firmly.

The Princess seemed to startle, her entire body tensing. Finally, she sheepishly turned, and quietly stepped out of the water and back onto the bank.

"Thank you," she murmured as she walked past him, eyes downcast.

Once she'd disappeared over the crag, Link stood helplessly by the bank. Was she hurting? Was she mourning? Why didn't she say anything?

Casting one last glance at the shallows where Zelda had stood, Link turned and trekked back uphill. As he returned to their camp, realization dawned upon him. _This must be how I make her feel._ He was surprised at how much it bothered him.

* * *

The next day, they continued south along the river, heading towards Necluda. While she had not mentioned, Link assumed Zelda planned to make for Kakariko Village. It was a wonder they hadn't stopped there sooner. In a few miles they would come upon the Wetland Stables where they had boarded their horses. After that, the road would split, and they could ride up the shallow hills that lead to the north entrance of the old village. Despite their relative anonymity, it was probably better to travel through roads hidden by tall grasses and the passage of time.

After retrieving their horses at the stable, Link and Zelda came upon the fork in the trail. The path was split in two by a large and leafy oak. It was bordered on one side by the winding Hylia River, on the other by the low-lying Lanayru Wetlands and rising rocky hills leading towards Necluda. Zelda paused to check her Sheikah Slate, and then guided her mount past the fork, taking the path that would lead them further into Central Hyrule.

"Is this the right way?" Link questioned as he caught up to her, urging his horse into a light trot to keep up. Perhaps she had been distracted again.

The Princess' eyes were glued to her slate, reins loosely gathered in her hands. "Of course," she said nonchalantly.

They were fast heading up the wrong road. "Kakariko is to the east,"

Zelda was unphased. "I know."

Link bit his lip. "We're heading south."

"I know that." There was a bite to her voice, but she did not look up from the Slate.

"Are we...not going to Kakariko?"

The Princess lowered her Slate and held it close to her chest, her knuckles white. "N-no," she stammered.

Link didn't understand. "But - Impa, and -"

"In time," Zelda cut him off. Link felt his blood stir, the heat rising from the sword at his back.

"Hasn't she waited long enough?"

"I don't know - maybe," the Princess shrugged, her tone distant. Link was incredulous. He gazed at her stoic expression, trying to find some scrap of emotion in her that would help him understand - but her eyes were as still as ever. Glossy dark emeralds as smooth and as unyielding as stone.

Comprehension finally took hold, and he slowed his horse with a gentle tug on the reins. "You don't want to go there," he said, stunned. The emptiness, the slow and measured steps, her terse words and expressionless eyes; the Princess was avoiding something. Or perhaps avoiding everything.

"I...I don't know!" she hissed at him, pulling her horse to a stop. "Are you done interrogating me or can we just keep moving?"

"No - please," he begged. "Tell me what's going on. I can't keep...I don't understand."

Zelda regarded him blankly. "I'm fine, Link," she assured him, though the weakness in her voice hinted otherwise.

"Are you? I know it's a lie!" he blurted. The Princess seemed taken aback at his words. She glared at him, as though trying to process what she'd heard.

It felt wrong to challenge her like this, as he had been so often in the recent weeks. Maybe in a past life, when he was whole, Link might not have minded her antics. But on days when the cacophony of memories and emotion were difficult to parse, her voice and her strength had been an anchor. Without it, he wondered if anything he was seeing was real at all. So this...this silence of spirit was starting to drive him mad.

Zelda didn't say anything. Her eyes suddenly fixed on something behind him. There was a rustle in the grasses and a crunching on the rocks, and Link turned in his saddle to see a small Hylian woman with cropped red hair, dressed in traveller's garb and carrying a large pack. She stood on a large rocky outcrop behind them, at her belt she carried a tightly curved sickle. The sight of it sent a chill through him; his hands on the reins twitched instinctively, wanting to reach for his sword.

"Pardon me," the woman said sweetly. "But I couldn't help but overhear that you are planning on going to Kakariko Village."

"We're not-" Link cut in. He whirled his horse around to face the woman.

She did not seem to notice his glower. "I was wondering if you could show me the way." Her brown eyes were round and guileless, set in the pale and smooth face no older than twenty.

"Who are you?" Link said, his whole body tense. At his back was the reassuring warmth of the Master Sword. And in the depths of his soul he could hear it, and feel its rhythm, quiet at first but beginning to drum through his veins: the song of the hero.

The woman cocked her head to the side, and clasped her hands to her chest. "Oh, I'm just a traveller."

Link's raised his hand to his sword hilt, thumbing the familiar grooves. He looked towards Zelda. "Stay back," he cautioned. The Princess did not move.

"What's the matter, Hero?" the Hylian teased. "Afraid of strangers?"

"I know what you are," Link called out to her. He dismounted, and advanced towards the outcrop. The woman drew her sickle, and spun it menacingly, falling into a fighting stance.

"Yiga!" Zelda gasped behind him.

The woman burst out laughing. "Yiga!? What Yiga?" she said, slowly sweeping her sickle in an arc in front of her. "I see none here,"

"I do," Link challenged.

The woman's face twisted with another laugh. "There are no Yiga left, Hero. There's a new regime come for Hyrule."

Link drew his sword and brought his shield to bear. The Hylian woman stood her ground. "Come then," she taunted. "I've heard stories of your prowess. The Chief thinks you're a prodigy, but I'd see it for myself."

 _The Chief?_

There was no time to contemplate the woman's words; she leapt from the outcrop, and the song began. He'd taken down dozens of Yiga; they were quick, and often bled him, but no matter how many he fought they seemed convinced one more attack would do it. But this woman - still in her disguise as a normal Hylian - was quicker and stronger than any other he'd faced. Back and forth on the rolling hill they moved, blade meeting blade, each switching between defense and offense as they tried to learn each other's rhythm and each other's song. The Yiga woman scrambled back on the outcrop, attempt to claim the higher ground, but Link swiftly followed. He aimed a swipe at the woman's side; she parried with the curve of her blade and twisted the sickle before he could react, sending his sword flying from his hand. It landed at the edge of the rocky outcrop, clanging against the stone. A broad follow-up slice from the sickle quickly followed. Link parried with his shield, leaping backwards, and backwards again, narrowly avoiding the woman's repeated strikes that made the air whistle around her weapon. He tried to focus, but the attacks were coming too quickly, and his right hand longed for a weapon. _Fury_ , he thought. _Fury and thunder_. But the focused anger, and the corresponding power, would not come. Unexpectedly, in the blurs of colour before him he saw a sudden, golden light.

During the fight, Zelda must have dismounted and climbed up onto the other side of the outcrop. Breathless, Link tried to call out to her. The shock and fear at seeing her nearly made him lose his footing. Zelda closed in on the attacker, and unleashed a burst of magical energy into the her back. The woman stumbled forward but did not fall, and retaliated with a swift pommel strike across Zelda's face. The Princess was knocked off her feet, and tripped over the edge of the outcrop. With a wail she disappeared from sight. A fire lit in Link's gut. He lurched forward, shield up; and before the Hylian woman could turn he rammed his shield into her side, sending her tumbling across the rocks. Then without another thought for their attacker, Link leapt from the outcrop, soaring down towards the fork and landing hard against the dirt. Zelda lay in a heap near the tree that split the path. He fell at her side, the Hylian woman all but forgotten.

She was awake, praise Hylia, but dazed. On her forehead was a splintering cut that, no larger than Link's thumb. It was a fright less serious than it could have been. When she saw him she sprang up from the ground, and looked back towards the outcrop. Link followed her line of sight and saw the Hylian woman standing on the outcrop, her sickle in hand. Before he could react however, the Princess raised her hand and sent another surge of energy lancing towards the Hylian. This one must have been stronger - much stronger - for the woman was slammed back against the rocks, and fell limp to the ground.

"That should do it," Zelda growled, and then she winced from pain. Up on the outcrop, their attacker did not stir. It took a moment for Link to process what he had seen. _She's dead,_ he realised, the thought enough to make his mouth bone-dry. _Zelda killed her._

The cut didn't take long to heal. Zelda was silent the entire time, though when he was done she muttered a quiet thank you. Despite his work, the cut had not healed cleanly, and a small scar marred her skin.

Link ascended the outcrop once more, to check that the woman was indeed dead, collecting his sword along the way. Despite his protests, Zelda insisted on accompanying him. They patted the Hylian woman down, finding nothing of interest among her belongings. No notes, maps, or anything to indicate she had come from Karusa Valley. The sole possession marking her as Yiga was her silver sickle, the hilt wrapped with tight red leather. Link determined that the best thing to do was the leave the body, and keep moving. They retrieved their spooked horses, and walked back down to the fork.

"I'm sorry," Link said as he helped Zelda back up into her saddle.

"No…don't apologise." Zelda absently rubbed her brow where she had been struck. "That woman. She wasn't a normal one of their kind."

Link wrapped a hand around his right wrist, belatedly feeling the first blossoms of pain from a strain. Stiff and sore from the fight, he swung into his own saddle.

"Did you notice, around her neck?" Zelda asked. "A blue neckerchief. There was something embroidered on it. It didn't seem Hylian."

Link hadn't, if he was to be honest. The woman appeared entirely normal. Perhaps too normal, now that he thought about it.

"And red hair," Zelda mused. "Quite rare for Hylians."

The lingering effects from the fight, and or perhaps more from the way it had ended, gave way to the disbelief at hearing the Princess speak. It was more than she had said in days. Perhaps weeks.

And once she began, it seemed, her old habit of never stopping took over. "We need to keep an eye out. Note any others we see in similar garb…."

"We need to go to Kakariko," Link broached hesitantly. "I'm...I'm refusing to take you anywhere else."

Zelda glared. "You don't need to _take_ me anywhere."

This again. "Then I'm refusing to _go_ anywhere else."

 _Then you'll go alone_ , he half-expected her to say. But Zelda just sighed, and relented. "You're right. We need to get somewhere safe."

Perhaps this was a good time to ask. The questions he'd had on his tongue for the past week: how was she really, was she happy, were _they_ happy? Those and more, along with the the questions he been mulling over since he'd saved her, and since he'd awoken. They rose to the surface one after the other like bugs dancing around a lamp, all fighting to reach the light. _What did I do? What did I say?_ Exhaustion muddied his thoughts and he leaned into his saddle.

"I haven't been well," Zelda said quietly. She was clenching her horse's reins tightly, and the white mare seemed to fidget in response. "It feels like I've been...underwater."

"I know...I've always known," Link said. He carefully undid his woolen hood, and handed it across to her. It wasn't much, but it would ward off the winds.

Zelda gave him a long, guilty look. "We can talk," she sighed as she wrapped the hood around her. "The way we should have been. Once we get to Kakariko, Link. I promise."

* * *

It was raining by the time they reached Kakariko Village early the next day; Link had let Zelda keep his hood, and she kept it wrapped close around her face. Above them the sky was a morose grey, though the horizon was tinted with the first hints of dawn. Link kept his sword unsheathed for the remainder of their journey to the village, only relaxing when the wooden archways and traditional charms finally came into view. It had been a long, arduous night, and Zelda was unable to keep herself from yawning.

The village was still asleep, the only signs of activity being the low clucking of cuccoos and the ethereal hovering of sunset fireflies. Zelda was struck by the sight of the sloped roof homes clustered around a tall waterfall, and the smell of earth and rain that signified the first days of harvest. To see that the village had not changed greatly in one hundred years left a warmth that radiated from her core. The familiarity warmed her more than Link's hood, more than any coat or fire could. It melted away her anxiety and her reservations about coming to Kakariko. Flashes of a childhood lost to time came back to her: trips with her mother as a young child across Hyrule Field and into the mountains of Necluda, the Sheikah girl a few years older than herself, afternoons spent at the goddess pool. The evening banquets under the stars, and the rich aromatic scent of warm tea and vegetable stew. Any more and she felt she would faint; even the Gerudo could not distill a wine stronger than this. They stopped outside the large compound at western edge of the village. When they dismounted, Zelda reached out for Link and gripped his arm, overcome.

"I'm not ready," Zelda whispered.

"Take your time then," came Link's reassuring voice. Zelda breathed deep, bolstered her resolve, and let go of his arm. "We should rest first," Link advised. He Link paid for two soft beds while Zelda tethered the horses to a post outside. The village really was unchanged: the same guardian deities sat outside the main compound, the same goddess statue she had played around as a child, the same rows of plum trees and tilled earth.

"I'm going to let Impa and Paya know we're here," Link told her as she sat down on her bed to unlace her boots. "Rest as along as you like."

"P-paya?" Zelda asked, but the name died on her lips, and Link ways already halfway out the door.

It was evenfall by the time Zelda was fully rested. The rain still drizzled, saturating the air and muddying the ground as she and Link walked to Impa's home. When Zelda knocked and pushed open the doors she was met with another wave of nostalgia. Another place entirely unchanged from the memory of the last time she'd been here: the Sheikah girl-now a woman-standing before her with grave eyes and the Sheikah Slate in hand; their last conversation as they frantically planned their next moves; and Zelda's desperate pleas for her oldest friend to help her appointed knight when the time came.

There was a white-haired woman kneeling on the floor, slowly polishing the dark wooden floorboards.

"Impa?" Zelda called to her hesitantly. The Sheikah woman spun around to face them, her long tresses fluttering as she moved to reveal...a face completely unfamiliar to Zelda. The woman's big doe eyes went wide when she saw Link and Zelda. She had full rosy cheeks - now bright red - and a slender Sheikah symbol tattooed on her forehead. She dropped her polishing cloth and brought her hands to her face in shock. She seemed incapable of speech, her lip quivering at the sight of them. Link stepped forward.

"Paya," he said. "This is Zelda."

"Oh!" the woman peeped. She took a moment to compose herself and dropped her hands. Paya then rose to her feet, and bowed deeply. "I'm-I'm so sorry, Princess. I forgot all of my manners. You are here to see Lady Impa? My grandmother is upstairs."

 _G-grandmother?_ Zelda could not speak. _Of course - of course!_ One hundred years had passed. She had seen the old woman when she watched over Link, in the days after he awoke. But there was the seeing she had done from the Hyrule Castle, and the _being_ that she was doing now.

"I-" she started, but the words, whatever words they were, were caught in her throat.

Link was at her side again. "We can wait in here, Paya, it's fine."

The Sheikah girl nodded, bowed again, and crept up the stairs to the second story of the house. When she was gone, Zelda all but fell to her knees, and knelt before the dais at the centre of the room. Link knelt beside her, as present as ever. "You did well," he said. Zelda laughed weakly at that.

"No, I didn't," she shook her head, feeling herself go red. The ceiling creaked above them, and after a few minutes Paya descended the stairs, leading a small, elderly woman into the room. If seeing the village again made her heart quicken, seeing Impa was a full-frontal blow of grief. She gaped silently as Paya led the old woman on the dais, and settled her into the tower of pillows that was her throne. Beside her Link moved to rise, but the old woman raised a hand.

"No, do not rise for me, it is I who should bow to you." The old woman gazed slowly over to Zelda; if not for the signature Sheikah tattoo at the centre of her forehead, she would have been unrecognisable. For the second, or perhaps the third time that morning, words failed Zelda entirely. She let out a weak sob, unable to stop the fresh tears from welling in her eyes. Why was there so much pain? Why was it so hard to escape?

"Hello again, Princess," Impa breathed sadly. "You live. The goddess has been kind."

How pathetic she must look. How weak, and small. She couldn't stop the tears now. "Yes," was all she could manage, though Impa seemed unphased.

"Link, Paya, leave us," she commanded gently. "There are those blessed without memory of the Calamity. The Princess and I are not among them."

Wordlessly, Link and the Sheikah girl did as they were told, slipping out the door into the village outside.

"Look at me," Impa said, her voice as compassionate as it was stern. Zelda lifted her head, as difficult as it was to do so, and looked her old friend in the eyes. She knew her face was marred with grief, her tears hot against her skin.

"Time is cruel," Impa crossed her hands in her lap. "Have no shame in your grief."

Zelda shook her head. "No - I'm just a fool. But a part of me hoped, for some stupid reason-"

"-that I would be the same as you remember - ha!" the old woman slapped her knee. "Me too, me too!"

Zelda laughed, hiccupping and wiping away the last of her tears. "You were so tall," she chuckled brokenly. "I was jealous."

"Oh I know, I know. But now look at me - blessed with a long life, and a pretty granddaughter, and an even prettier best friend, alive and whole before me. If I had riches, I would give it all to that knight of yours."

Zelda smiled hesitantly. When she looked at the old woman she saw that a shade of her once-young friend was still there - the same sagely and savvy woman, once wise beyond her years and now wise precisely because of them. Time was cruel indeed; but in this case it had also been kind.

"I'm glad to see you, Impa," Zelda said warmly.

The old woman nodded. "As am I, Zelda."

They talked of Link and Zelda's journeys since the fall of Ganon, and of the great event itself. Despite the mere months since it had occurred, Zelda already found the memory of her toil in Hyrule Castle beginning to fade. Even those last blazing moments in Hyrule Field, as the beast raged before her, had been reduced to nothing more than colour and noise.

When Zelda was done, Impa regarded her solemnly. "You have a great many troubles, don't you, dear Zelda?"

Zelda wasn't sure where to begin. _Is it that obvious?_

The old woman waved her hand dismissively. "No need to burden yourself now. Supper will be ready soon. Tell me more of your travels."

Relieved, Zelda continued to tell Impa of their escapades; their troubles in Zora's Domain, her discovery in Vah Ruta, the formidable Zora prince. She recited it all as though it were a book, her mind and memory the ink and pages. Her old friend listened quietly, hands folded, occasionally nodding her head in acknowledgement.

Outside, the rain began to ease.

* * *

"How are you, Paya?"

Link stood with the Sheikah girl under outer lip of the pagoda roof, pressed up against the outer wall of Impa's house to avoid the rain. He considered pressing an ear to the wall and eavesdropping on the women inside, but a part of him had no desire to know of what they spoke.

Paya seemed startled as ever that he would speak to her. "Oh, me? Oh...you know. I'm fine. I do what I can here, and I look after my grandmother. It isn't much, but it's what I am."

"It's kind of you," Link assured her. "Your people are lucky."

"Oh, t-thank you!" the girl smiled meekly. "I hope we've made you feel as at home as possible here."

"You have," he nodded, and patted his stomach. "I'm looking forward to some of that famous Kakariko stew."

Paya's face lit up. "You are in luck then, Master Link. Dorian and Cado prepared a pot just yesterday."

They watched the rain together in silence, and Link absorbed the few moments of peace they had all been given. Here, shrouded by the tall mountains and misty air, it was as if this was the only place in all of Hyrule. Paya was busy peering through the window into Impa's audience room, though the glass was too foggy to see anything clearly.

"How is she?" Paya asked, breaking the silence. Link shrugged, though it was hard not to be honest with the bright-eyed Sheikah girl.

"I wish I knew," he replied. "Though I don't know she knows either."

"Oh," Paya frowned. "I suppose that makes sense. I can't imagine what she endured. She must be so strong. More so than any of us."

"You're probably right there." Link agreed, remembering the way she had carried him through his grief. She'd made it seem easy, natural even.

"I can't believe I have been lucky enough to see her with my own eyes," Paya gushed, bringing her hands to her cheeks. "All I heard growing up was how beautiful she was, how strong, and brave and wise. I thought it might not be true but…."

"She is."Link said aloud. The thought surprised him. The Princess _was_ beautiful; few could seriously deny that. But what startled him was that the thought was old, almost a memory - a lingering feeling of something from long ago. _Surely not_...

The rain stopped, the clouds above beginning to fragment.

Beside him, Paya was fidgeting nervously with her robe. "You just...you just let me know if there's anything either of you need, Master Link!" she told him.

"Of course, Paya," Link smiled. "Thank you. This place is a sanctuary - for her and me."

"And Link," Paya began, suddenly sheepish. "I just want to thank you for everything you have done. You're - you're our hero, really."

Link blushed, and raised a hand awkwardly to scratch the back of his neck. "Oh, uh, it's nothing." _Hero_. The title had never seemed to suit him, even now.

Paya voice was quiet, almost as soft as a whisper. There was no rain to hide her words. "And...and I just want to thank you, personally."

"...for what, exactly?"

"I - well I can't put it into words. Just know that I'm grateful to be...to be your friend." The Sheikah girl's words were full with sincerity, and something about them seemed so final. As though she was bidding him goodbye. She brought her hands to her face again. "Is...is that okay with you?"

Link chuckled. "Sure, of course it is, Paya," and he saw her whole body relax. She nodded assuredly, before attempting to spy through the window again. There was still nothing to see; however, now that the rain had stopped he could hear a hushed conversation coming from the hut. Paya left the balcony, moving down to the deity statues at the base of the house. She began turning over the apples that sat in the offering bowls one by one, examining them for rot.

With nothing else do to, Link followed. His stomach rumbled at the sight of the apples. Racking his brain, he realised he couldn't remember the last time he'd even had something as hearty as stew. "Any spare apples I can take?" he asked, rubbing his belly again. Paya laughed and shook her head.

"You know, Master Link, now that the Princess is back, you're much more talkative," she observed, checking then replacing the last of the apples.

"Talkative?" Link was taken aback. No one had ever accused him of _that_ before. "Am...am I?"

Above them the wide double doors creaked open. Zelda and Impa emerged onto the balcony; their faces both shadowed and solemn. The Princess' face was still withdrawn, but for half-a-heartbeat Link was sure she smiled down at them.

"Papaya," Impa called down from the balcony. "Take the Princess upstairs, and give her a fresh set of clothes. I've been wearing the same robe for decades and even I think she needs something new to wear."

The old woman raised a hand, pointed to the neighbouring house. Smoke billowed from its wide chimney. "And you, Champion. To Dorian. We need someone strong to carry that pot of soup."

Paya and Link shared a friendly look, and set about their tasks.

* * *

Once they had all supped and the village again quieted, Impa again sent Link and Paya away; she all but commanded the boy to go to bed, and had her granddaughter go to Claree's to help the tailor with her stock (' _Or, whatever else she might need you to do'_ she had added).

Zelda was glad at least, to be alone with her friend again. Impa was one of the few people - or perhaps the only person - who could remember the events of the Calamity, let alone understand.

Impa had Zelda find and brew them a pot of tea. After some rearranging of Impa's pillows, they sat opposite each other on the dais. Zelda breathed in the smell of the tea, feeling once again transported through time. She was grateful that the precise Kakariko brew had not changed.

"Tell me the worst of it, Zelda. While the tea is warmest," Impa implored, before taking a long sip. Zelda followed, focusing on the warmth of the tea to steady her nerves.

Lowering her cup, she began to unravel her thoughts. "I know my destiny. I see it every time I look at the castle. I feel it every time I use the power. But I don't want any of it. The word 'Queen', the thought of a kingdom - it means nothing."

"You feel nothing, then?" pressed the old woman. "Not even for your home?"

"Nothing. There are times when I feel nothing at all, for anything or anyone. I...I'm so tired, Impa. So tired of caring..." She felt the sorrow welling up within her, pulling her down and down. "If I could tell you why, if there was even a reason..."

Impa lowered her cup to the floor, and leaned forward on her pillows. She clapped her hands down onto her lap. "Listen to me, Zelda. Whatever you are feeling, you must discover a way to work through it. Because as much as it is my wish is to see you happy after all these years - your work is not yet finished. In your absence, and in the absence of Calamity Ganon, all the darkness that remains in Hyrule will fester. If it is not stopped, it could reach the same level of danger as the Calamity. United, the people can rebuild from any tragedy. But torn apart, they become nothing. This is what will befall Hyrule should you not succeed in uniting this kingdom once again, as it was in your father's day."

"I know all of this," Zelda sighed. The old woman's words were true, so why did they fill her with so much dread?

Impa was resolute. "Then you know what you _must_ do."

Zelda tried to protest, the words falling heavy from her tongue, hating the pitiful selfishness in her tone. "But what if that isn't what I want anymore?"

Gently but firmly, Impa chided her. "Do you think your knight _wanted_ to do all he has done for us? Do you think I _wanted_ to grow old as I waited for my friend to return? Do you think Purah, or Robbie, _wanted_ to leave their people and their home to do the same?"

Though the old woman sat across from her, it felt as though there was a gulf between them. Ashamed, and weary from the pain, Zelda gazed at the wooden floor. In her hands, the teacup was beginning to cool.

Impa's tone softened, and she extended a wrinkled hand to Zelda, rubbing a thumb across her palm. "Zelda, I am not telling you that you cannot feel this way. One hundred years ago, your father and I tried to force a duty upon you, and I can see now the suffering it caused you. But still, to my sorrow, the duty remains. Not only to that boy, but to _yourself_ \- do not tell me you toiled away for one hundred years against that beast just to disappear from the world? You must find a way, and this time your _own_ way, to fulfill your destiny."

Zelda blinked away the fresh tears. "I don't know how."

"Then tell me, what is it that you do want?"

That took some thought. For a few moments she thought the answer could again be 'nothing'. But the desires came to the surface one by one, each stronger than the last. "I want to see my home healed. And I want the Divine Beasts, and all of the Sheikah technology, to be protected from harm and misuse. And Link...I want him to be safe, and happy."

"Can these wishes not also bring forth the restoration of your kingdom? Or perhaps, could Hyrule's healing be a prerequisite of what you want? In what other scenario could Link be safe, or the Divine Beasts protected, if it is not you who reclaims the throne?"

Zelda pondered Impa's words while the old woman poured them both another cup of tea.

"Think on it as long as you need, Princess, and take your time to heal," the woman's voice was laced with regret. "There is no soft way to say it. You have had no rest, and these burdens-"

"-have broken me. Even Link sees it." Zelda sighed, aching from her core.

"Strange time for you to start underestimating him, Zelda," Impa cautioned. "It doesn't matter - stay here with him as long as you need. Kakariko is your home, and the Sheikah your people. We are at the ready to serve. We have been for one hundred years."

* * *

Impa sat before him on her pillows, hands crossed in her lap and the ornaments from her ceremonial hat swaying gently. Link had awoken the next morning to an urgent and pointed message from Ollie the inn-keep - that he was to seek an audience with the Sheikah leader before he or the Princess did anything else that day.

The old woman did not waste any time. "Zelda is not well, Link. She is worse than I thought she would be."

"I know." Link nodded. _But I don't know why._

"I imagine it was a shock for you," Impa began, sensing his thoughts. "To remember only fragments of your former life. But your ignorance from the full extent of it has shielded you. The Princess has had no such bliss. She remembers all, she feels all. And somewhere between the time you rescued her and the time you brought her here, she has finally lost the ability to cope."

Impa's words were paralysing. _Zelda_ could no longer cope? Hadn't Paya she said was the strongest out of all of them? What would the rest of them do now?

Impa clapped her hands against her knees. "Link, you must find a way to protect her. Even if it is from herself."

"But, you know, I'm just a knight. How could I-?"

"Are you just, Hero?" Impa interrupted, motioning to the crossbow that hung at his hip - he had not parted with it since they left the Domain. "The Princess told me of that contraption of yours. I wonder if you might be a little wiser than you think. And in any case, protection is not the right word here. Support is what she needs. Support to work herself through this. That is all you need do."

Link left the house alone, his thoughts heavy. His conversation with Impa had done little to ease him; after admitting he had no idea what 'support' he could give, Impa had implored him to look within himself, and his memories, to find a way to bring the Princess some joy while they continued their task. Even the smallest amount would do.

"Pain like ours is strong, Champion," she told him. "It needs strength to temper it."

With resignation, Link walked over to the goddess statue at the centre of the village. He offered it a silent prayer, and in reply the ethereal voice whispered words that only he could hear:

 _You who have conquered the shrines and claimed their Spirit Orbs. I can offer you great power…._

 _Shrines_...Link thought. He looked up to the hill overlooking the village, and the diffuse blue glow that emanated from the shrine atop the hill. It had been a few months at least since he'd gone down into one of those shrines, and in truth he'd lost count of how many he'd found. _There must be more_ , he reflected. _Zelda would know_.

The realisation hit like a wave against the rocky surf; the suddenness of it startled him, and Link had to stop himself from exclaiming. _Shrines! Of course!_ He turned and bounded towards the inn.

* * *

Ha Dahamar Shrine pulsed with a cool blue light, its swirling patterns reflected dimly in the low pool that surrounded its base. The fields of Necluda were shrouded in a fine mist, and above the sky had darkened with the signs of yet another rainstorm.

Link and Zelda shared a saddle, having left Zelda's horse in Kakariko Village, and a few miles back from their destination he had instructed Zelda to close her eyes. As they descended the rocky pass to the ruined plains, his eyes had passed briefly over the decaying Guardians that littered the field. Best not to linger very long, he decided. He brought their horse to a stop at the Shrine entrance and dismounted, biting his lip to stop from yelping as he landed in the icy water. Zelda waited patiently, silent as ever.

"Alright, open your eyes," Link called up to her, gently pulling the horse's reins to nudge it closer to the Shrine.

"I've seen this before," Zelda said plainly. "This is one of the first ones we found."

"You haven't seen all of it," Link helped her dismount, and lead her over to the pedestal. He watched as the understanding dawned on the Princess' face. Before them the interlacing mechanical doors of the Shrine were closed, so Link motioned towards the Shiekah Slate hooked at Zelda's hip.

"Go on," he urged her, unable to suppress his grin. Apprehensively, the Princess reached for her slate, and gently tapped it against the pedestal. The mechanical doors whirred open with an otherworldly ease, and soundlessly locked into place. In the chamber beyond, the glowing all-seeing Eye of the Sheikah was carved into the stone base of the Shrine, signifying the true entrance into the halls beyond.

"It's been completed," Link explained as Zelda carefully walked into the chamber. "But it should all still be down there." _I think_ , he added mentally.

He joined her on the platform, and together they descended into the Shrine. Link's guess had been correct. Everything about the Shrine interior - from the towering ceilings to the blue lamps that lined the walls, to the ancient carvings in the stone floors - was just as he had left it.

The Princess could not speak. She gazed around the interior, her mouth hung open and her eyes full of awe. Her boots echoed on the stone floor as she stepped further into the shrine.

Link watched her anxiously. "Is...is it okay? Maybe an unexplored one would be better but-"

And then she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him so tightly that he was almost winded. He gingerly placed his hands on her shoulders, unsure how to react to...this. Her angel-blonde hair was in his face, and she smelled of earth, and grass, and rain.

"'Is it okay?'" she teased after she pulled away. " _Is it okay_? Link.…"

Lighter than she had been for days, or maybe weeks, or months, the Princess spun away from him, marvelling at everything she saw. He watched as the young woman explored every inch of the Shrine that she could, snapping photos and taking notes, and beginning to prattle to herself, and to him, about what she saw.

Link tried to savour the afternoon they spent in the Shrine; to grasp it and make it one of his few solid and stable memories. But time moved so fast, and seemed like to slip through his fingers. He felt almost as reluctant as Zelda to leave, but he knew above them night was beginning to fall.

During their slow ride back to Kakariko under a starless sky, and indeed for the rest of the evening, Zelda's exuberance waned, and she spoke little. The weight and the sorrow that clouded her - it had not fully lifted. It couldn't have. Link reminded himself of Impa's advice; she needed support, and she needed time. Late in the evening, as he sat tending his crossbow on the balcony of Impa's house, he watched Paya and Zelda talk quietly by the fire. They were both dressed in the traditional Sheikah garb, Zelda's hair coiled into a high bun just like Paya's. In the low light they could almost be sisters; the way Zelda and Impa almost were a hundred years past, or so he heard. That was the way it should have been. The Sheikah girl said something to embarrass herself, her hands rushing to cover her face, and over the crackling fire Link heard them both laugh. He hoped this was one of many such evenings to come.

 _Pain like ours is strong_ , he mused, the old woman's words on his mind. _And time so cruel._


	6. Scar

**A/N: With the help of a fantastic beta-reader (Mikure), _Chapters 1 to 4 have each undergone as massive re-edit_ ; typos are hopefully all gone, the language has been tidied up and some extra world-building has been included. Chapter One has almost doubled in length. We worked hard on the re-edit, so feel free to check it out :)**

* * *

Zelda held the Sheikah Slate close to her face, and peered through the scope. A few hundred feet below, perched at the centre of the wide and glistening Lake Akkala, stood the tiny outset village called Tarrey Town. Link and Zelda had set camp at the edge of the eastern battlements of Akkala Citadel, and Link was now perched on the wall with his legs swung out over the precipice of the old stone. He leaned back, hand braced against the cool and mossy cobble, and closed his eyes to focus on the warmth from the sun.

"It's good to see that Tarrey Town is still flourishing," Zelda said, pausing to take a photo. "To think, less than a year ago it was nothing more than a barren island."

"From the ground up," Link said, raising his face towards the sun. "They had to start somewhere."

"Hmm, yes, but a shame they couldn't start here." She motioned ruefully to the Citadel ruins that loomed above them.

Although the Calamity had taken the inhabitants and structural integrity of Akkala Citadel, it seemed time had claimed the rest. A century of the battering winds, endless rain, and raging thunderstorms in Akkala had weathered away much of the stone, giving it a shapeless, spongy texture. Moss covered the remaining relics of the Citadel's defence, rendering them rusted and useless. And not far from where Link and Zelda sat, at the base of Akkala Tower, great swaths of Malice clung to the Citadel's Peak as a persistent reminder of the massacre that occurred there.

They had been on the road for less than a week, but already Link felt more at ease than he had during their entire stay in Kakariko Village. They had spent a week within the Sheikah village, under the gloomy skies and increasingly dark and frigid nights. The day after their reprieve at the Ha Dahamar Shrine, Zelda spoke with Link as she had promised. They walked together to the forest in the western hills that surrounded Kakariko, and in the low light of the Great Fairy Fountain, and the soft glow of the Blue Nightshades and Silent Princesses, she found the strength to unburden her thoughts and fears. Her words echoed that which Impa had already told Link - that Zelda's happiness had seemed to wither to dust, along with near everything else she felt, but that she was determined to press on somehow.

Determination or no, the sweeping sadness that had overtaken her was not leaving without a fight. Almost every night that week, Link had awoken to find her crying quietly in the bed next to his in Ollie's Inn. He would speak her name softly, and ask if she was okay. And each time she would apologise, and he would hear no more. By day the Princess spoke little, and wandered listlessly between the inn and Impa's house. By night she hardly ate, and often retired as soon as night fell. If Link was to be honest with himself, seeing her like this had begun to make him sick. Even the weather seemed to be contributing to his unease; the heavy clouds above began to bear down on his spirit, making him sullen and sour. By the end of the week Link was half-convinced that he was doomed the spend the rest of his life sulking.

It was Lady Impa - sensing the gloom in them both - who suggested Zelda and Link travel away from Kakariko on a short, and specific mission. Sanctuary though it may be, she told them, perhaps Kakariko carried too many memories to be their place of healing. Taking inspiration from their escapades in Zora's Domain, the old Sheikah suggested that they induct a suitable candidate to pilot Vah Ruta.

"You can't be serious," Zelda had protested. "Vah Ruta may no longer be within Ganon's clutches, but she is still _dangerous_."

"It is the quickest way to appease the Zora," Impa countered. "Return to them the autonomy of their Divine Beast, and you will strengthen your ties to them immeasurably."

Impa motioned to the Sheikah Slate, still hanging from Zelda's belt. "The Slate gives you total control, regardless of the pilot. That will be your safeguard."

Impa had also suggested the pair utilise their newfound ability to destroy more of the remaining Malice. After some collective brainstorming over their map, Link and Zelda identified Akkala Citadel as the next major site of corruption. As they planned their route through northern Hyrule - starting from Kakariko, travelling north to Akkala and Robbie's Ancient Tech Lab, and then south through Zora's Domain towards Hateno - Link saw Zelda's spirits lift once again.

As a gift for the road, Paya had given Link and Zelda two traditional Sheikah robes to protect them from the autumn chill. The robes were warm, but breathable and light - certainly more suitable than the snowquill coat Link had picked up in Rito Village some months before. Zelda had taken a liking to hers immediately, trading her bright blue royal blouse for the wide-collared white and red robe and accompanying navy obi.

Their travels were easy going. The route north took them around the Lanayru Wetlands for the third time in almost as many months, and the trade routes that snaked from Lanaryu to Akkala were well maintained, on account of the frequent shipments of ore and stone carried down from Eldin by the Gorons.

Seeing the familiar scenery of southern Akkala rush by reminded Link of his previous adventures in the region. On his first trip to Akkala Citadel Ruins since awakening Link had not dwelled long. The ruins were patrolled by a garrison of Guardian Skywatchers and inhabited by a band of bokoblins, who had been corrupted and enhanced by their proximity to the seeping Malice. But the Skywatchers had all fallen from the sky the day they had sealed Calamity Ganon away, and not long after that many of the foul monsters seemed to die off as well. Link could count on one hand the number he had seen since that day. Perpetual resurrection by Calamity Ganon appeared to have rendered them too reliant on the beast for survival. Now that his essence was gone from Hyrule, it seemed that their tie to the land was severed as well.

Now though, their survey of Akkala Citadel could be carried out in peace. The inhabitants of Akkala - few that they were - must have understood well just how ruined the Citadel was. Link had seen no tourists or curious travellers during his first visit, and had yet to see any that afternoon. Still, he fell comfortably into his old habits and kept watch while Zelda paced through the ruins, her Sheikah Slate in hand to take note of her observations.

An hour into their inspection, a long call that seemed to soar through the cool afternoon air startled them from their solitude. Link spun sharply, and saw that a hundred feet above them was a Hylian man. The stranger stood atop the winding stone stairs that circled the outer edges of the Citadel, a few flights above the eastern battlements.

"Travellers!" he called out, and began to jog down the stairs. Link positioned himself between the Princess and the Hylian, ready to reach for his sword if the need arose. He quickly evaluated the newcomer: the man wore a faded Hylian soldier tunic, the fabric tattered and frayed, with the crimson crest faded to a dull orange. He was armed with little more than a traveller's sword and shield, and Link noted with some relief that he carried nothing in the form of a sickle.

"'Name's Nell," the man introduced himself, once he reached them. "Didn't meant to startle you, I just don't see travellers here very often. Did you find the new bridge manageable?"

The once-ruined citadel bridge had been repaired with a crude rope bridge, a precarious new addition to the area since Link's last trip. 'Manageable' was not quite the word Link would have used.

"I camped at that ruined bridge for nearly a year, bolstering my courage to try to cross." Nell went on. "D'you know the story of this place?"

 _No but Zelda probably-_

"I don't, actually," Zelda replied, tone subdued. "What happened here?"

With a earnest voice, Nell began his tale. According to the young man, Akkala Citadel was the last stand of Hyrule. When the Calamity struck, Hyrule's army was overcome with a threat they could never have prepared for: the possessed guardians, the corrupted Divine Beasts, and an army of monsters. With the fall of Hyrule Castle and Castle Town, the remaining Hylian Knights fell back to Akkala Citadel.

"This place was built to protect Akkala. To protect Hyrule. You can see it in the sheer enormity of the structure - this was a fortress, unassailable and impenetrable," Nell explained. "But the Citadel was never built with the Guardians in mind - nothing in Hyrule was. It fell within hours, and so to did the remnants of the Knight order."

Retelling the story seemed to sober Nell. As he related the events of the past, he gazed solemnly up at the fortress walls, as if looking beyond and reliving the massacre. After a reverent pause, Nell shook himself free of his musings. Rubbing the frayed tendrils of his soldier's tunic between a thumb and forefinger, his voice sounding like it could break, he concluded his tale. "This tunic belonged to kin of mine. A great uncle. It was not the one he fell in, no, but it was his all the same. I came to pay him my respects - and I suppose I've done that now." He inclined his head with respect towards the fallen citadel, lost to his thoughts once more.

Both Zelda and Link shuddered to look upon the fortress, and the massacre that it represented. Beside him, Link saw that Zelda had wrapped her arms around herself, and that tears were beginning to roll down her cheeks.

"You all right there, miss?" Nell asked. His words seemed to startle her.

"Oh - I just - your story," she hurriedly dabbed away the tears. "It was very moving."

"Well, you can find me down in Tarrey Town later if you wanted to trade tales." Nell seemed to sense her sorrow, and stepped politely out of their way. "I better be off, or I won't reach it before nightfall. Thanks for listening."

Zelda nodded wordlessly, and Link hurried them both away from the man. There was nothing more to do for her than to offer his arm, and escort her up the winding stone stairs to the peak of the Citadel. Link felt uncomfortable prodding her with questions;if she wanted to talk, she would talk. Regardless, the cause of her pain was clear: another place lost to ruin, another few hundred Hylians sacrificed, and from her perspective, all of it entirely her fault.

As they climbed the Citadel, the tragedy of the place began to sink in for Link as well. This was where they died...the last of his brothers from the Hylian Academy. Their names were lost now, but their faces haunted him still. Youths just like him, with long ears and wide, naive eyes. _Golden Boy_ , they'd called him. They'd ruffle his long hair, and tease him for his short stature. _You'll catch up, Small Fry, one day._ But when he was chosen by the Sword, they had all bowed. And when the Calamity struck, they had all fallen. _I'm the last one_ , he reflected as they approached the peak. _I'm the last knight of Hyrule._

* * *

Link and Zelda stood at the edge of the Citadel Peak, flanked by the gruesome pools of Malice that almost completely covered the top of the ruins. They had made camp under the only enclosed space on the peak, and their next step was to rid the area of the corruption that still clung to it. They did not have much longer; dusk was approaching, as well as another Akkala rainstorm. They needed time to bunker down and light a fire before the night chill set in. Zelda was re-tying her obi, adjusting the robe so that it was wrapped tighter around her torso.

"Do you think you're ready?" Link asked her, noticing the way her hands fidgeted tensely about the fabric.

"Do _you_?" She countered.

Link instinctively raised his right hand to the hilt of his sword. _What do you think,_ he asked it. _Are we ready?_

No reply came, and Zelda was looking at him expectantly. Link glanced at the dark clouds above, and drew the Sword. "Let's find out," he said.

As with the two times previously that they had performed the ritual, Link drew his sword and held it with the blade pointing downwards. He offered the hilt to Zelda, and she wrapped her hands around it, her fingers partially interlaced with his.

Kass' song - and the words the Rito bard had recited - returned to Link as he waited for the Princess to begin the ritual. _The Hero - and the Princess - hand in hand…._

Link had not stopped to contemplate the _rest_ of the lyrics; the ones that told of the Princess's apparent love for her Knight, and how this love had awoken her powers. The truth of these words seemed just like everything else Link and Zelda once possessed; lost to time and relegated to little more than legend. Before him, the Princess - the real Princess - had closed her eyes and was focusing on the sword. Link followed suit, trying to focus his wayward mind.

He focused his attention on the winged crossguard of his sword, reflecting on the days just before it had chosen him. He was just a newly-minted knight, his first Hinox kill under his belt. The others, now nameless and near faceless, had patted him on his back and ruffled his hair upon his return, the Hinox guts and other foul finds tied to a bag on his saddle. _Small Fry's come back_ , one of them teased. _The Golden Boy's done it_ , joked another. And then, his memory shifting like sands, he recalled standing in the throne room and bowing before the King. _You are the youngest to achieve your title_ , came the booming voice. _And for your dedication you will travel north, where the real test of your courage will begin…._

Link could feel the blazing heat from their combined powers, though it did not burn him. Unable to resist, he opened his eyes to look upon the radiant light that surrounded them, and the enormous sphere of power that would soon envelop all of Akkala Citadel. In front of him, Zelda's face was strained as she concentrated, and tears were falling heavy from her eyes. Her hands were gripping the hilt so tightly that her knuckles were white and her nails were beginning to dig into his skin. He tried to call out to her, but he could not move, let alone speak.

 _Just focus on the Sword_ , he thought, and closed his eyes again. The blaze around them intensified until it was raging and almost too much to bear. However, this time the power felt... _off_. Unstable, and frantic; he could sense it. _Focus,_ he told himself. _Focus!_

The sword, the voice, the song; Link tried to collect his thoughts but the volatility that surrounded them kept distracting him. He breathed deeply, reining in his focus to just the movement of the hot air through his lungs. In and out, in and out.

At last, the sphere of light shattered and their work was complete. Link quickly sheathed his sword, and moved forward to catch a staggering Zelda before she fell, remembering the first time she had fainted. Only this time when he caught her, she gasped sharply, and seemed to collapse under her own weight. They fell backwards onto the cobbles and the Princess clung to him, strong fingers clawing at his tunic as she heaved through panting breaths. He tried to lift her to her feet, but she would not - or perhaps could not move. Fighting under her weight, Link struggled to his knees; Zelda was still collapsed against him, but he had managed to get her to sit upright at least.

"Help me," she wheezed, leaning into his chest. "I can't - I can't hold - I can't _breathe_."

Dumbfounded and overwhelmed, Link could say nothing in reply. He held her as she struggled through more waves of ragged breaths. Her face was red, and her cheeks were streaked with tears. He could feel the racing of her heart.

Her voice was waning, though the gasps did not stop. " _I can't breathe, I can't..."_

"I-I don't know-" Link said helplessly. Each ragged breath sent a sharp pang of panic through him.

He could not speak. The fear had paralysed him. Desperate, he mouthed a silent prayer, beseeching whoever or whatever could hear him. _Help me, please_ , he begged. _I'm going to lose her._

Slicing through the panic and desperation, a voice spoke. Almost too quiet to hear, but with a stunning clarity.

 _Take her to your camp, Master._  
 _Take her from this place_.

Link did not stop to wonder from where the voice came. Summoning his strength, he lifted Zelda off the ground, and carried her back to their camp. He propped her up on her bedroll, against the mossy wall of the enclosed space. Still the heaving gasps continued. He knelt down in front of her.

"What's happening?" he asked aloud. Zelda's head remained bowed, too lost in her struggle to reply.

 _The ritual has taken a great toll on her, Master._

"Master…?" he breathed. "I don't-"

 _Find her some water, for when she is ready.  
Tell her to focus on you until she is able to calm herself._

Link did as he was bid, scrambling over to find his water skin. He returned to Zelda's side, pushing down his own anxiety, and placed a steadying hand on her shoulder.

"Just focus on me.," he reassured gently. " Focus on feeling calm. I've got water."

Wordlessly, Zelda nodded, hiccuping through another round of spluttering coughs. She gripped his arm, and slowly her breaths lengthened and the heaves ceased. She coughed, and wiped the tears from her eyes.

Taking in a deep steadying breath, she finally spoke, the words falling from her lips. "I think I'm okay."

Link exhaled, bowing his head under the sheer weight of his relief. He would hug her if he knew it wouldn't hurt her. Zelda dropped her hand from his arm, laughing weakly.

"Did we manage it?" she asked. Link had not even stopped to check.

"I think so," he nodded.

He stayed at her side as she sipped from his water skin and slowly regained her strength. It wasn't until she eventually drifted off to sleep that he stood and unstrapped the Master Sword, leaving it resting against the mossy wall.

"It was you," he said to it, not quite believing his own words. At first the Sword did not respond, but just as Link settled into his own bedroll, he heard it speak.

 _The song is felt by those who are worthy of it, Master.  
And heard by those who are in need of it._

Link looked over at the Princess; asleep and curled up in her bedroll. She was the picture of peace.

"Thank you," he whispered to the Sword, before closing his eyes to sleep.

* * *

Despite the toll it had taken, the ritual had indeed succeeded. The ruins on the peak had been bleached a brilliant white, and the clearing of the corruption had revealed a stairwell leading down into the subterranean heart of the Citadel.

Link had not mustered the courage to broach the events of the previous night. Whatever had happened, their success with the ritual had bolstered her spirits, and she was determined to explore the Citadel depths. Using the Sheikah Slate to illuminate the dark hallways, they descended into the fortress, Zelda leading the way. If there had been Malice underneath the peak, it too had been destroyed. And aside from a few collapsed balconies and doorways, the Citadel was in surprisingly good condition.

They explored a huge underground dining hall. The fighting had not reached this chamber, and the still, stale air that had been sealed underneath the peak had served to preserve the hall. Three rows of long wooden tables ran the length of the room, flanked by low and sturdy-looking benches. Tall candlesticks were scattered along the tables. Tapestries bearing the Hyrulean crest lined the walls, as did various portraits of respected Knights of the Academy. Older men and women, faces lined with age and solemnity...Link examined the portraits, reading the plaques below each portrait in turn. He recognised a few of the faces, but none of the names.

Zelda stood by a portrait of the King at the head of the room. It was an older painting, and the date etched on the plaque showed that it had been painted in the years before either Link or Zelda had been born. The King's hair was an ashen blonde and fell thick to his shoulders, though his face was no less stern than it had been in the days before the Calamity. Zelda reached up and placed a hand on the frame, sighing softly as she looked up at the portrait.

"We avenged you," she told the painting. "I only hope it was enough."

The portrait was flanked by two smaller portraits; on the left a middle-aged man with wide shoulders and ink black hair pulled into a low bun, and on the right an elderly man, dressed in navy-blue robes adorned at the chest with the crest of Hyrule, embroidered in thick red thread. The plaques displayed their titles: Battlemaster Otra and Chief Advisor Voswann, the right and left hands of the King. Link gazed upon the hard face and savvy eyes of the Battlemaster, and felt a now-familiar sense of recollection. Otra of Old Lurelin Village; that was what the plaque read.

"I remember him," Link breathed, stepping closer to the portrait. The Battlemaster had been a friend of his father's. The memory was clear, as though it had never been forgotten. He was sitting by his father at a feast, aged no more than ten. Otra and his father had been telling drunken tales of their exploits, their great belly laughs filling the hall; Link's father patted him on the back, pointed to the dark-haired Battlemaster and said, _'You'll know this man better than I do by the time you're a knight.'_

And then it was gone. His father's voice had been so crisp; as if he had been in the room with them, speaking the words directly into Link's ear.

Zelda all but materialised beside him. "I remember him as well," she murmured, finger tracing the edges of Otra's plaque. "He and my father would argue for hours. He never approved of the excavations of the Sheikah technology. All risk and no reward, he said."

More flashes of Link's training came back one after the other; the days in the sparring yard, the bruises that marked his body, the stern but ever calm instruction from Otra himself. _Don't rely on your strength alone, boy_ , he'd chided Link. _Use your wits. Keep your focus. You can't hear the song with a clouded mind._ And the training was more than just fighting, Link remembered. Otra had taught them to meditate as well. To maintain their calm in the face of any foe, and to approach any challenge with a level mind.

"I remember that he was always late for meetings with Father. He was so often in that training yard," Zelda reminisced.

That was true as well, Link realised. Otra's role as Battlemaster did not mandate that he spend time training the would-be knights, or that he train the knights at all. But Otra had seen them all through, eye to eye and blade to blade. And it was Otra that recommended Link to the King.

"He was a good teacher," Link said as the tide of memories began to recede. Drawing her gaze from Otra's portrait, Zelda appraised him with a warm but bittersweet smile.

"He must have been," she agreed.

* * *

On their climb back to the Citadel Peak, Link's mind had been occupied by the vestiges of the new memories. It seemed such a vast and intolerable loss; so much talent and so much vigour was there among the Hylians, and now it was all gone. Rebuilding was not enough. There had to be some way to preserve what once was.

One idea had come to him, however. Otra's words, instructing him to listen for the song; they reminded Link of the way the Master Sword had spoken to him the night before. They had both told him to focus; to keep his calm. _To meditate_ , Link surmised.

"I was thinking," he began once he and Zelda returned to camp. "There's something we could try."

Zelda was busy inspecting the base of Akkala Tower, and the damage the Calamity's corruption had done to the peak.

"Sorry, what did you say?" she asked, putting away her Slate.

"Battlemaster Otra taught all of us how to meditate," Link shrugged, not wanting to sound to committed to his idea. "I thought it might help you."

She squinted at him, her face pensive and taut.

"Help you keep a clear head," Link explained. Zelda pondered the idea, a finger lazily scratching her chin.

"If you say so," she said, her tone more congenial than enthused.

They returned to the east battlements overlooking Tarrey Town, and Zelda sat cross-legged on the mossy cobblestones. Link thought of the Battlemaster's face, and tried to place himself within the memory. _Where was I? What did I do? What did I say?_ Gradually, Otra's teachings resurfaced as though they were instinct.

"Concentrate on your breathing. You can close your eyes. And just…" he paused, trying to remember the exact words. "Accept. And observe. Everything you can hear and feel."

Zelda closed her eyes. Link watched her breathe; the slow and rhythmic rising and falling of her shoulders. He sat down next to her, crossing his legs and mirroring her posture. Taking one last lingering look at the lake below, he closed his eyes.

"Acknowledge any thoughts you have," Link explained. "Good thoughts are observed, and noted - like ducks on the water. Negative thoughts are allowed to pass by, like clouds"

For a few minutes they sat in silence. Link extended his awareness to the sounds behind them, listening for any suspicious sounds - just in case.

Zelda's voice was soft and sweet. "What are you thinking about?"

Link's eyes snapped open. He peered to his left; the Princess had her eyes open, and was gazing down at the water. He wanted to tell her again; the thoughts were meant to be observed, not shared. But Impa's words were on his mind, like a warning told in a fable. _Support. That is what she needs._

"Er, well-" Link raised a hand to the back of his neck, and scratched the nape.

"Tell me," Zelda implored.

There was no denying her. "Lunch, actually," he said with a smile. "What game we can find near here. I was going to ask if I could borrow the Slate."

When he looked over, she'd shut her eyes again. "What are _you_ thinking about?" he asked cautiously.

She did not move, and for a second seemed not to hear him. "Home," Zelda said suddenly. "Whatever that means."

"The castle?"

"I suppose so," Zelda agreed. "I can still remember what my room looked like. I can run my hands along the walls, sit at my desk and place each and every thing. My desk, my books, my mother's portrait...all of it."

Link didn't know what to say. He realised he had sat slightly closer to her than he'd thought, and that their knees were touching.

"Do you want to go to Hyrule Castle?" he asked. "I could take you there-"

Her emerald eyes opened and she gave him a familiar, scolding look.

"- _I mean_ , _we_ could go there. Together."

Zelda closed her eyes and smiled. "Yes, I think I'm ready." She returned her focus to her breathing, deep and measured. "I would like that."

* * *

They met Nell again at the base of Akkala Citadel. The previously somber man was brimming with excitement when he saw them. He had a Goron and a Hylian in tow, who Link recognized as Greyson and Hudson from Tarrey Town. They exchanged handshakes and pleasantries, with Hudson reporting that his wife Rhondson had given birth to a baby girl.

"A Gerudo girl with red hair," Hudson added. "As we expected."

They soon found the reason behind Nell's renewed enthusiasm. Akkala Citadel had been enveloped in a sphere of golden light just as he had arrived in Tarrey Town, Nell had explained.

"Yup - all of Tarrey Town saw it," the Goron piped up. "Shone brighter than the belly of Death Mountain itself."

"And when it was done, I saw that the Citadel Peak was clear!" Nell exclaimed. "All that corruption - gone! The goddess herself must have willed it."

Link opened his mouth to explain, but could not. What would he say? Would the trio even believe him?

"It must have been a miracle," Zelda chimed in before he could speak. Link caught the corners of her mouth lifting in amusement.

"Let's not waste time, Nell," Hudson urged. "We need to see what's left of the Citadel."

Link and Zelda left the trio to their exploration, and made for the nearby stables to retrieve their horses. It was late afternoon by the time they set off north through the Akkala Highlands towards the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab, but Zelda was determined to make good time. And Link was happy to risk riding at night if it meant expediting their trip. The incident from the night prior had been stewing within him all day. _You need to talk to her about it_ , he told himself. _What if it happens again?_

The rain was relentless and unceasing. Whether falling in a persistent fine mist or bucketing down as a thunderstorm tore across the sky, there was no escaping it, and the rain seemed to intensity the further north they rode. By the time they reached the mountain pass, Zelda was sniffly with a cold, and Link could feel his own chest tightening and his throat itch as he too began to fall ill. They were both running a low fever, and their provisions were beginning to dwindle. The rain made hunting a chore; Link's own sniffles scaring away game, and the rain in his eyes affecting his aim. By the time he had hunted enough for supper, he was so tired that Zelda had to take over the cooking. Their days were miserable and damp, their meals lean and charred, and their conversations clipped as they tried not to be irritable with each other. Eventually Zelda fell so ill that she shivered in her saddle, even when the sun shone, though her skin was always hot to the touch. They reached the East Akkala Stables in a daze, both still sniffing and coughing. Link awoke the next evening to the terrifying realisation that he had slept for nearly an entire day - though Zelda had not noticed, for she had done the same.

"I don't remember _this_ aspect of travelling," she croaked as they ate supper.

"Me neither," Link murmured. He tried to stretch the soreness from his muscles, but he was too tired and ill for it to have any effect. They passed an hour in a gloomy silence, punctuated by Zelda's soft sniffles.

"I never thanked you," Zelda finally said. She was sipping a from a warm mug of Hyrule Herb tea, and was holding it close to her face. "After what happened on the peak."

Link shifted awkwardly. He had been secretly hoping she'd forgotten all about it. The whole incident had saddled him with feelings and thoughts that he could not parse through.

"I must have frightened you," Zelda continued. Link gave a small, embarrassed nod. He began to search for the words that he wanted to say, but there was too much. The competing thoughts bombarded him. He felt himself begin to shut down; he pushed the thoughts away and let the feelings pass him by. Just like Otra's teachings - let it all float past. This was how he had managed in the before, right? The silent knight, stoic in the face of adversity.

 _This is not the same, and you know it_ , he chided himself.

Zelda didn't seem to notice. She spoke of her burden as if he could even begin to understand. "I don't know why it happened. I only know that...that I'm getting stronger. I feel better every day, I do. But sometimes I also feel worse. D-does that make sense?"

Link did not have an answer for her. All he could do was try to search for a solution. A remedy, of any kind. "I think we should go back to Kakariko," he eventually confessed.

"What? No," Zelda protested. "We have work to do."

"I don't know that we're ready," Link admitted. "Not after what happened."

"But we succeeded!"

"What if it gets worse?"

"Worse?"

"What if it _kills_ you, Zelda?" he asked. "I don't know how to protect you from - from this."

"Protect me? Link - I don't need a protector!"

"What about that guardian in the wetlands? Or when you fainted inside Vah Ruta? Or the Yiga in Central Hyrule? What about those times?"

"Is that all I am then? Even after what we've been through?"

Link closed up, and stood from the fire. "I don't know." he said flatly. There were words he could not say. Feelings he could not wrangle into thoughts. _I almost lost you_ , he wanted to tell her. He was sworn to protect her; he was raised as a knight to stand at her side. He was chosen by a sword to wield it in _her_ service. If he lost her, he may just lose himself. The Princess glared at him incredulously, but said nothing. Link walked back into the stables, and collapsed into his bed.

* * *

Even in the early hours of the day, with all of Akkala blanketed in fog, the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab buzzed with activity. The ancient flame in its central furnace flickered in the dawn light, and the windmill on the workshop roof spun steadily with the northern sea breeze. From inside the workshop, the whirs of the ancient oven Cherry could be heard. And atop the workshop, hunched over the eyepiece of the enormous telescope that sat on the workshop roof, was the workshop's own director, Robbie. He paused to adjust the telescope's position, and returned to the lens, muttering something under his breath.

"Are you sure we should disturb him?" Zelda asked as they approached. Link ignored her.

"Hoiii!" he called out, waving up to the director. The elderly Sheikah man had not seen them coming, and started from his scope at the noise. The twin eyepieces of his goggles whirred and rotated as he looked down upon them, but soon a great smile spread across his face.

"Champion! Princess!" he cried out, waving with both hands. And then he disappeared into the workshop.

"Jerrin!" Link heard the old man shout. "Wake up, look who it is!"

The workshop door burst open, and Robbie greeted them with open arms. His wife Jerrin waded sleepily over to the door, but her face lit up when she saw them. "I knew you would do it!" the director said as he lead them into the workshop. "We saw Vah Rudania's attack on Hyrule Castle from our front door. I am sure Impa is well pleased."

"She is," Zelda told him. "She had heard of our success."

"Good, good," Robbie said, scratching his chin. "But still work remains. Otherwise you would not be here."

Jerrin extended her hands out to the Princess. "A pleasure to meet you," she beamed, though her words were still a little slurred.

"And you," Zelda nodded. "Are you the director's assistant?"

Robbie and Jerrin exchanged a knowing look. The Sheikah woman giggled. "In work and in life. I'm Jerrin, Robbie's wife."

Zelda seemed taken aback at that. "Oh! But, you work together?"

Jerrin just laughed. "We do," she smiled.

Robbie led them to the workshop roof while Jerrin began preparing breakfast. His telescope was angled towards Akkala Citadel. He explained that he had been examining their work on the Malice that remained from a distance, and that it appeared as though none had returned. Link stepped around the base of the telescope while Robbie detailed his research, running his hand over the large gears and cogs that kept it in position.

"Anything else to report, Robbie?"

"If you came for an update on my research, there is not much to tell you," Robbie confided to Zelda. "Not a single active Guardian has been spotted."

"We haven't seen any either," Zelda remarked. Link peeked through the telescope again, and spotted a pair of dilapidated Guardian Skywatchers at the base of the Citadel. They had been smashed against the rocks, no doubt powering down the minute Calamity Ganon had been sealed away. _If the Guardians all deactivated, why is the Malice still present?_ he wondered.

"But not to worry! My research is not complete, Princess," Robbie assured her. "With Cherry and Jerrin's help - and with the Hyrule Castle library back at our disposal - I will commence work on attempting to reactivate the Guardians."

Link's eyes snapped up from the telescope, and he wheeled around to face Zelda and Robbie. The Princess had been taken aback.

"No!" they cried in unison, startling the old man. For a moment their eyes met, and Link knew they were remembering the same moment. Burning fields all around them. The whirs of the mechanical beasts, possessed with the singular mission to destroy all that they found.

Robbie did not back down, his hands firmly on his hips. "The Calamity is gone. There is no risk."

"There is a risk," Zelda said sternly. "We never learned to control them. We don't know how the Calamity affected them and subverted their original purpose."

"Questions that can be answered through research, Princess! I cannot believe that you of all people would advocate against this."

"I am just trying to protect our kingdom."

"And that is what the Guardians were for!"

"I'm sorry, Robbie. As...as your Princess, I'm ordering you to wait. There are those that remain - Hylians and Zora alike - who remember the Guardians, and remember the destruction they caused. Let me first reclaim Hyrule Castle, and then perhaps we can talk."

The director begrudgingly agreed, though he pointedly urged her not to dawdle. The castle was once thought impenetrable, the director told them, but the Calamity had changed that.

"Just like the Citadel," Link pointed out.

"Yes," Robbie frowned. "Yes, indeed."

Jerrin served them a breakfast of creamy-heart soup ( _'For the long journey together!_ ' she told them as she dished it up) and Link and Zelda departed south. As they descended the hill towards the East Akkala Stables, they stopped to examine a decayed Guardian, whose gargantuan body was half buried in the ground. It had been active recently, Link remembered. He had sparred with it and dodged its fire more than once. But now it was without power, and its singular beady eye gazed unseeingly, unaffected by their presence. Link placed a hand on its rusted outer shell, tracing one of the decorative swirls that swam across its body. He had killed more of its kind than he could count. He could feel the searing pain on his skin from each time one of them struck him. He could remember the visceral fear and surge of adrenaline that rushed through him each time he had met one. But still, seeing them all lifeless and robbed of their original purpose; it gave him pause, and filled him with sorrow.

* * *

Zelda had not wanted to forewarn the Zora of their arrival, or their plan. She wanted to see how the Zora were treating Vah Ruta without the prying eyes of the Champion or the Princess upon them. And she knew from what little time she had spent in their court that there were schemers and squabblers among them, adorned in their proud jewels and perched in their marble seats of the court gallery. Any small advantage was one she was tempted to take, but Impa had cautioned against antagonising the Zora any further.

"You did not part from the Zora with hostility, Zelda, but neither did you part amicably," were her friend's words. Begrudgingly she agreed to send a letter addressed to the King, to inform them of her plan for Vah Ruta and to beseech them to choose a suitable pilot. _Someone quick in the water,_ she had advised. _With a strong spirit, and respect for Vah Ruta._

Zelda was not surprised to learn upon their arrival in Zora's Domain that King Dorephan had not selected a candidate. "We have many fast swimmers, truth be told," the King explained from high upon his watery throne. Link and Zelda had arrived early in the day, and so were mercifully able to secure a private audience with just the King and Prince Sidon.

"My concern, Princess," the King continued. "Is the danger Vah Ruta poses. I need not tell you that our Divine Beast _killed_ my daughter, and nearly killed my son as well."

Zelda had to fight down the urge to refute the King's words, and rebuke him for his close-mindedness. _Ganon killed your daughter_ , she could have said. _And it was not Vah Ruta that attacked your son._ However she had been considering Link's teachings the entire ride from Akkala to Zora's Domain. His outburst at the stables had infuriated her, but each time she wanted to snap at him, she couldn't help but think of his words. _Let the negative thoughts pass by, like clouds_. To Zelda's surprise the words had resonated with her. Ten years of rigorous prayer and dedication peppered with intermittent attempts at meditation had made her skeptical of any form of mindfulness; after all, it had done little for her in the past. But the world had changed - _she_ had changed. There was no escaping that.

Zelda took a deep breath, and let the wave of frustration pass.

"I understand your concern," she told the Zora King. "I suggest then that Vah Ruta need not be piloted regularly. Myself and Link can induct a pilot, aid them in moving Vah Ruta to a safer location, and then the Zora will only need take control of the Divine Beast in emergency situations."

"Emergency situations?" probed the King.

"You don't mean fighting do you?" Prince Sidon cut in. He was standing by his father, now occupying more the role of the Zora heir than the role of their friend. His face was almost as solemn as his father's, though softened by his youthful exuberance.

Zelda recited the reasons she had memorised, trying her best not to sound rehearsed. "Vah Ruta is an excellent swimmer. Were anything ever to happen to Zora's Domain, she could be used to evacuate your citizens. Or, if moved to the Eastern Reservoir, she could be aid in regulating the water levels in the event of high rainfall season, or a large storm event."

The King nodded slowly as she spoke, though his face gave no indication of his inner thoughts. Zelda waited for a response, and realised she was holding her breath. Link's words were in her ear once more. _Focus on your breathing_.

"You have clearly thought this through, Princess. All of these benefits would do the Domain well, and would please Lady Mipha to see them realised." The King almost seemed to smile, but then his face hardened. "But I cannot give this responsibility to any one of our subjects."

"Then it is clear," Prince Sidon asserted. "I will pilot Vah Ruta."

"No," the King said firmly. "That cannot happen."

"You read what the Princess sought, Father. A strong swimmer. One who respects Vah Ruta," Sidon argued.

The King swept his arm aside, fins flicking with anger, his sudden frustration indicating that this was not the first time they had argued on the matter. "I will not send another one of my children into that _thing_!"

Sidon showed no remorse, only placating logic. "Someone must be sent. The Zora must take control. Those who attacked me must have sought to take Vah Ruta for themselves."

King Dorephan scowled darkly. "I have had enough of this, Sidon."

"As have I, Father. The Champion and the Princess come before us with an immense gift, and you shun them out of fear? One hundred years have passed. I may not have known my sister well, but I know she would not have us leave Vah Ruta vulnerable out of fear of being hurt."

"Enough! Go then!" bellowed the King. He sighed and looked towards Link and Zelda. "I apologise that you saw this weakness."

"There is no need," Zelda said. The King bowed his head, and seemed to slump in his throne.

"I will not condone or condemn what I know you will do," the King said. He leaned forward, his voice grave and intense, and his the weight of his gaze bearing down on Zelda. "Just know, Princess. If my son is harmed, the consequences will fall to you."

* * *

Vah Ruta had thankfully been left undisturbed. The Divine Beast remained semi-buoyant in the deep lake of her high plateau, her engravings pulsing with a faint cerulean glow. Zelda ran a quick diagnostics with the Sheikah Slate, and determining that Ruta was in good condition, cleared the trio for entry. She teleported to Vah Ruta's travel gate, while Link and Sidon swam across the clear lake towards the Divine Beast. They met in the lofty chamber that housed Ruta's main control unit, the morning sun streaming in through the wide windows that lined the outer walls of the Beast.

For once it seemed that Sidon's normal fervour had been diminished; he turned slowly to observe the extent of the room, his face grave and reverent. There was no ignoring the gravity of where they were; this chamber was ancient, sacred and cursed all at once. And though Link's face was steady as always, Zelda could guess what he must be feeling. She remembered with a twinge of sorrow the time she had found him in here, weeping and wet. No longer a hero, but a boy - a child - grieving for a life he could not even fully recall.

 _We should not linger here_ , Zelda decided.

"With me, Sidon," Zelda instructed, her voice reverberating across the high stone walls. "Link, I'll just need you to keep watch."

The knight nodded, and walked to the chamber entrance. Zelda led Sidon over to the main control unit and scanned her Sheikah Slate.

"I'm ready when you are," Sidon smiled down at her, one webbed hand balled into an enthusiastic fist.

Zelda nodded, and turned her attention to the control unit. "Ruta's vital functions and power level can be controlled by the Sheikah Slate from within the structure itself. However actual control over her movements and abilities only requires that you be registered as her pilot."

Zelda shuffled nervously on her feet. "And…," she added with hesitation. "That Ruta accepts you."

As she spoke she felt her voice waver. Before the Calamity, she had aided the original Champions in learning to control their Divine Beasts - but she had never actually piloted one alone. Sidon did not seem to notice.

"Fascinating," he murmured. "To think how ancient this technology is."

"Ancient and unlike anything in all of Hyrule," Zelda agreed. She motioned towards the terminal. "Stand before the control unit, Sidon. The Slate will be used to register you, and we will know if Ruta has accepted you."

Sidon did as he was bid, placing a hand on either side of the terminal. His eyes were fixed on the ornate Eye of the Sheikah at the terminal centre. If he was afraid, he did not show it.

Zelda raised the Sheikah Slate, and tapped through the registration function. It was as quick as taking a photo; the Slate beeped twice and a small note reading _Registration Complete_ appeared at the bottom of the screen. All around them, the chamber was filled with the deafening trumpeting of an elephant. The chamber shook and the low waters around their ankles rippled and splashed. At the entrance, Zelda saw Link reach for his sword and shield. The sound continued, and Vah Ruta shook so violently that they were nearly thrown from their feet.

And then it stopped. The noise and the rumbling ceased. The waters still splashed at Zelda's feet, but otherwise Vah Ruta was still. Apprehensively, Zelda raised the Slate again to check Ruta's vitals.

"Prince Sidon," she said. The Prince eyed her nervously, and stepped slowly away from the terminal. Zelda lowered the Slate and smiled. "Vah Ruta has accepted you. I officially induct you into the role as pilot of Divine Beast Vah Ruta."

The Prince beamed down at her before bowing his head and raising a fist to his heart. "It's an honour, Princess. Let's hope we can do Mipha proud."

It took nearly the rest of the day before Zelda felt they were ready to move Vah Ruta to the Eastern Reservoir. Much like her own abilities, control of Vah Ruta required intuition and experimentation. As the Champions before had discovered, the Beasts were not automatons; somewhere amongst the machinery and stone they seemed to have a soul.

Sidon however did well to allay her fears. His enthusiasm was unmatched, and his purity of spirit was reminiscent of his sister's. He guided Vah Ruta with both firmness and compassion, and by the time the afternoon was waning, he had learned to control her by voice alone. Zelda stepped him through instructing Vah Ruta to move back and forth, to raise or lower her trunk and eventually, to dive and resurface. The Sheikah had built Ruta in such a way that she could be completely sealed from the inside, allowing the Beast to be submerged without damaging her interior (or washing away her pilot, for that matter). Finally, as the western sun began to set, Zelda gave Sidon the clear to submerge Vah Ruta fully, and take her through the dense and sprawling underwater caverns that snaked their way underneath Zora's Domain. The Beast groaned and whirred as each entrance and cavity was covered and sealed with panels of ancient metal and stone. The interior glowing etchings and main control unit provided a dim but serviceable light, and soon the entire structure was shuddering and rocking as they descended into the waters of the plateau.

"How do I know which way to take her?" Sidon asked. He was standing by the main control unit, a hand resting gently on the terminal as if to reassure the Beast that he was there to guide her.

"Ruta should know where to go," Zelda replied. For ten tense minutes they waited inside the dark chamber, listening to the rush of waters around them and the low groaning of Ruta's mechanical body. Zelda stood by the main control unit, inhaling deeply to calm her nerves, while Link maintained his guard at the chamber entrance. Ruta lumbered slowly through the waters, her movements gradual and deliberate. With no view through the thick stone walls, Zelda had no way of telling if she was taking them the correct way. Sidon, however, was determined and calm; he kept his hand on the terminal during their entire voyage through the canals, murmuring encouragement and praise as Ruta made her way through the waters.

"We're almost there," he announced suddenly. "I can feel it."

Sure enough, Vah Ruta soon shuddered to a halt, and Zelda could hear the waters break around them. The Divine Beast roared as she raised herself above the water's surface, and light filled the chamber once the panels that had sealed her were slid open. The trio hurried to the entrance leading to Vah Ruta's travel gate and saw that Sidon had maneuvered her to the docks of Rutela Dam, on the south side of the Eastern Reservoir. The first thing to catch their attention were two Zoran guards, whose silver Zora armor and long fighting spears caught the gleaming light of the setting sun. The guards waved excitedly at them from the docks, cheering in amazement.

"Well, I would say that was a success," Sidon grinned as they waved back at the Guards. He helped Link and Zelda disembark onto the docks, and walked over to the guards with arms outstretched.

"Rilla! Finn! Did you see that?" he called to them before pointing towards Vah Ruta. "What a marvelous Beast we have!"

"And what a marvelous pilot," Zelda added as she caught up to him. The Guards were completely enamoured, and demanded their Prince tell them all about his new skill as Vah Ruta's pilot. Zelda too was swept up in the celebration; she had not expected, or even hoped, that Vah Ruta would take to Sidon as well as she had. _Well, he_ is _Mipha's brother_ , she reminded herself. The Prince happily boasted of his new ability, taking ample time to thank Zelda for her aid, of course.

"What a gift," Rinna beamed. She was a young grey-scaled Zora, with sweet round eyes. The other was Finn, a middle-aged Zora with a weathered face, though his age did not temper his excitement.

"We'll be working under Vah Ruta's shadow from now on, Rilla," he commented to his younger companion. "It will be an honour."

Zelda felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Link, and his face was knotted with concern. He pulled her gently away from the trio of Zora, and muttered, "We need to go."

"What is it?" Zelda said in a low voice. She quickly peered over her shoulder to the Zora; they had not noticed.

He cocked his head, discreetly motioning towards the rocky hills that flanked the docks. "Movement. On both sides."

Zelda tried to subtly crane her neck, scanning the rocks above for any signs of life. At first she saw little more than the rustling of the trees on the outcrop - but then, at the corner of her eye; the glint of a golden weapon, and the flicker of a shadow across the rocks.

"Teleport back to the Domain, we'll catch up," Link instructed.

"No," Zelda shook her head. "I won't leave you two."

"Zelda, you can't fight-"

"No, I won't have this argument again. I'm staying and that's-"

An arrow whistled past her face, snapping on the marble of the docks. Link moved like lightning, raising his shield in front of her. Zelda spun back towards Sidon and saw two figures leaping from their hiding places among the rocky flank to the left. From the right, three more were advancing. Three of the attackers were tall and lean, with golden weapons and flowing red hair. _Gerudo!_

"Sidon! Get her out of here!" Link bellowed, shoving Zelda towards the Zora. Another arrow sailed past from the direction of one of the advancing Gerudo warriors. Zelda saw Link raise and fire his crossbow retaliation, sending the archer tumbling across the marble as a bolt found her chest. Zelda's vision swam as the docks were filled with the clamour of shouts and steel. The Zora guards had sprung into action. Rilla was fending off two assailants: a Gerudo expertly wielding a shining scimitar and a Hylian woman advancing with a long spear. Zelda caught a glimpse of Finn just as he charged the fourth attacker. Sidon was pushing her out onto the pier, away from the fighting. Over her shoulder, Zelda could see that a fifth bandit - a Hylian man wielding a simple sword and shield - was hot on their heels. Sidon whirled around to face the attacker, and landed a solid blow across the man's jaw. The Hylian flew backwards across the docks, landing unceremoniously on the smooth marble. Behind them, Link and Rilla were toe to toe with the Gerudo and Hylian attackers. Zelda tensed, watching and waiting for a moment to assist them - to send a strike a magic energy across the docks - but no good opening came. She noticed then that every attacker wore the same embroidered blue neckerchief that she and Link had found on the Yiga assassin some weeks before. Even the Gerudo, dressed otherwise in their traditional garb, bore the same blue accessory. A glint of sunlight caught one of the Zora guards' weapons, and Zelda's attention was drawn back to the fight. Finn had been cornered on the edge of the dam wall. He attempted to parry an incoming blow from his Gerudo attacker, but lost his footing. Flailing desperately, the male Zora managed to pull his Gerudo assailant with him as he toppled from the wall. Zelda cried out in horror, but the pair was gone.

Another arrow whistled past, narrowly missing Sidon's shoulder. The Zoran Prince did not seem to notice; the Hylian man pursuing them had recovered, managing to leap to his feet to recommence his attack. Sidon was hard-pressed trying to evade the oncoming blows. The Prince landed a second, stronger punch, sinking the full weight of his upper body, and this time the Hylian man did not rise. Meanwhile, had Zelda followed the trajectory of the arrow to its source and saw - crouched atop the highest rocks of right flank - a tanned-skin man with red hair, wielding a brightly painted bow. From his harsh features and aquiline nose Zelda surmised - though she nearly could not bring herself to believe it - that the man was indeed Gerudo himself. He reached back into his quiver, and drew another arrow, nocking it to his bowstring.

 _No!_ Zelda sprang forward, leaping into the Gerudo man's line of sight. Without time to think, she raised her hand in the direction of the Gerudo archer. He was too far away to hit with a pulse of energy, so Zelda focused her power inwards. She felt the fabric of reality folding under her palm, her magic warping and winding under and over itself until it was twisted into something physical...something _real_.

Two arrows soared towards her almost in unison, but snapped like twigs before they met their intended target. A great, beaming barrier of light had unfolded around her hand,protecting her from the archer's attacks. Up on the outcrop the Gerudo man scowled, firing another four arrows that continued to splinter ineffectually against the barrier. There was a piercing scream as Rilla cut down the last Gerudo attacker, while Link and the Hylian woman still danced across the docks. She was fighting defensively, Zelda noticed. Her long black hair swept about her face as she dodged Link's advance across the slippery marble, yet not once did she attempt a strike. From the outcrop Zelda heard the Gerudo man's voice echo down across the docks.

"Milagre!" he shouted. "To the Beast!"

"Yes, Chief!" the Hylian woman called back. She immediately disengaged from Link and dove into the water. The Gerudo man had shouldered his bow and was racing to the edge of the outcrop. He vaulted off the rocks, pulling a Rito paraglider from his belt. _They're heading for Ruta!_ Zelda realised with a sudden terror. She caught a split-second glimpse at the Gerudo's neck as he flew overhead - he too wore a dark blue neckerchief, embroidered with thick white thread. And then the fragmented events fell into place: the initial attack on Vah Ruta that had nearly killed Sidon, the Hylian woman they had tussled with in Central Hyrule who spoke of the Yiga Massacre, and the blue neckerchief among her clothes. This attack was linked to all the others. She ripped the Sheikah Slate from her belt and pulled up the map of Vah Ruta. Breaking into a sprint towards the Divine Beast, she selected the second travel gate situated at Ruta's main control unit. Link and Sidon were running behind her, shouting for her to stop. Ignoring them both, Zelda tapped the teleport function on the Sheikah Slate, and closed her eyes.

* * *

Zelda materialised in front of the main control unit just as the Hylian woman named Milagre ran into the towering chamber. When she saw Zelda, she smiled menacingly, and raised her spear.

"You will not take Ruta," Zelda challenged the woman, raising both hands out in front of her chest. Steadying herself, Zelda sent a thundering beam of energy towards the bandit. Milagre dodged, boots splashing through the shallow waters.

"So brave," she mocked, dodging another incoming lance of golden light. "Out of the way, child."

Zelda felt the blood rush to her head, and the fury pulse through her veins. "I'm not a child!" she shouted, sending a third bolt of energy towards Milagre. Again the woman dodged nimbly, before surging forward to close the distance between herself and Zelda.

Zelda blocked the swift stab from Milagre's spear with a quickly-erected barrier, but the momentum of the blow knocked her backwards, and she faltered. The barrier fell. The second stab found her left shoulder, and a searing pain lanced down her arm. Zelda managed to summon another barrage of energy against the woman. This one finally found its target, giving Zelda enough time to spin away from her attacker. She crashed against the chamber wall, raising another barrier just in time to block Milagre's leaping stab. Holding her magic firm, Zelda used all of her might to _push_ the barrier forward and Milagre was knocked from her feet. Zelda wasted no time, and sprinted back towards the main control unit.

From the Vah Ruta's central chamber, she could hear shouting as no doubt Link and Sidon engaged the Gerudo male. Milagre was advancing on her again, but Zelda countered her attack with a well-timed barrier, sending the woman skidding back across the watery stone.

Sidon burst into the chamber and barrelled into Milagre before the spear-wielder could even turn. They tumbled and rolled across the shallow waters, Milagre's spear flying from her grasp and clanging against stone wall of the chamber.

"Princess!" Sidon called out as he struggled to keep the Hylian woman down. "Take Link from Ruta and _run_!"

"W-what about-"

Sidon blocked an incoming punch from the Hylian. "Ruta and I have a plan," he said through gritted teeth.

Though she did not understand, Zelda trusted Sidon, and ran to the central chamber. The Gerudo man had Link on the defensive. The Gerudo feinted left, and smacked the pommel of his Rito-made sword into Link's ribs. The knight staggered backwards, winded and wincing from the blow, the suddenness of the assault leaving him vulnerable. Racing forward, Zelda raised a barrier just in time to block the second pommel strike that was intended for Link. Both the knight and his attacker glared incredulously at the shimmering barrier, before turning towards Zelda in unison. Through his shock and confusion, Zelda saw a small, affected smile flicker across Link's face. He used the opportunity created by the Gerudo's surprise to leap around the barrier, before knocking the man to the ground with a swift shield bash.

"Time to go!" Zelda called out, dashing towards Vah Ruta's exit. Link spun away from the Gerudo and darted across the stone to meet her.

"Sidon!?"

"No time!" Zelda gripped his arm and pulled him towards the exit, feeling her shoulder throb where she had been stabbed. Vah Ruta had begun to rattle and shudder, a thunderous trumpeting ringing out within the chamber. Together, Link and Zelda leapt from the Divine Beast. They swam desperately, weighted down by their clothes and gear, but reached the pier just in time to turn and see Vah Ruta disappear into the waters - with Sidon, Milagre, and the Gerudo still inside.

* * *

Once more they stood before the Zora King and his court. There had been no time to heal Zelda's wounds, and thus the pretty white robe Paya had given her was ruined by the large bloodstain that marred her left sleeve. The King was inconsolable, his usual tempered facade stripped away.

" _This_ is why I forbade him!" he bellowed. "The _second_ he boarded that Beast, another attack!"

Sidon had thankfully resurfaced with Vah Ruta in the Eastern Reservoir less than an hour after he had disappeared. Being a Zora the dive had posed no risk to him, even if he had not sealed Vah Ruta beforehand; however the nurses of the Zoran infirmary were determined to put him through a medical examination regardless.

"I am confident that Vah Ruta is safe," Zelda told the King. "The attackers that were with him were a Hylian, and a Gerudo, and cannot breathe-"

"A _Gerudo!?_ " the King all but shouted. The nobles of the court began to simmer with anger. They echoed his words, face twisted with anger. Rilla was in the audience chamber with them; she had found the bedraggled Link and Zelda on the pier, and had demanded to take them before the King.

"As were the other attackers!" she told the King.

"It's-it's true that the attacks were Gerudo led but-" Zelda began to protest, her words soon drowned out by the rage of the court. The nobles and retainers were in uproar, and the King had to bang his fist on the marble armrest of his throne to quieten them.

"This cannot go unpunished!" cried Muzu, the confidant of the King. "They attacked our sacred Divine Beast, the resting place of Princess Mipha, and they threatened the life of your heir _twice_!"

"No, wait-" Zelda tried to say, but she was drowned out again by the court's impassioned cheers of agreement.

"It is decided then. The Gerudo are not a foe that fight fair, nor are they one that I wish to engage," the King boomed, silencing the court. He looked down towards Zelda. "But I am reminded of your words Princess. There are choices we must make when we have no choice at all."

The King took a deep breath, pausing to collect his words. "Muzu - collect ten of our finest warriors, and five members of this court. We will send an envoy to Gerudo Town, to have them answer for what they have done."

 _No! No, no, no..._ Zelda could not speak. There was no point; she would not have been heard over the rambunctious cheering and shouts from the court. Link gave her a nudge, and they helplessly skulked away from the audience chamber.

After returning to their beds at the inn, Zelda carefully unwrapped her sleeve where her shoulder had been pierced. She scowled at the ruined fabric. Without the adrenaline from the fighting - both with the Gerudo and the Zora - the pain was back full force. The ache from the wound, and from her sorrows, and from her failure; all at once, it overwhelmed her. What was it that Impa had said? _United, a kingdom can rebuild. Torn apart, and it will become nothing_. Now not only did the Zora distrust her, they were about to go to war against the Gerudo. So wrapped up in her grief, she hadn't noticed Link move to sit by her side, nor did she noticed him raise his hands to her injured shoulder. It was only when she felt the pleasant warmth emanating from her injury that she turned to see him. A gentle light was radiating from Link's hands, and Zelda saw the wound begin to heal.

She lowered her eyes and steadied her thoughts, evening out her breaths. _Like clouds_ , she thought, feeling the pain recede.

"It's a shame that power doesn't also mend fabric," she mused.

"Mm, very inconvenient," Link said dryly. He held her arm steady, his concentration never leaving the light between his hands.

Zelda sighed; the meditation would not help her now. "What are we going to do?" she lamented. "I suppose you still think we should go back to Kakariko."

Link opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. Zelda looked down and saw that her arm was almost healed.

"I was wrong about you," he eventually admitted. The words were so novel that they were almost sweet.

"What do you mean?" Zelda pressed.

"In Vah Ruta," Link recalled. "I saw you fighting the spear-wielder. And you saved me from that Gerudo."

"Gerudo _man_ ," Zelda added. Link's eyes went wide in acknowledgement, and he sucked in air through his teeth.

"I know. Another surprise," he murmured, clearly unnerved.

"Well, I'm not invulnerable, am I?" Zelda teased, a hint of vitriol in her voice. "I've learned that much."

A moment of uncomfortable silence passed between them, and Zelda heard Link sigh.

"I'm sorry for what I said," he said, his eyes fixed once more on her shoulder. "At the stables. I shouldn't-"

"No, don't apologise," Zelda cut him off. She was tired of this routine, but she couldn't ignore her own brashness in assuming she needed no protection whatsoever. The injury from the woman's spear was sufficient proof. "No point dawdling on an argument between fools."

Link smiled, exhaling with a soft laugh. The words were unspoken, but Zelda knew what his comments had meant. _You held your own_. _You don't always need me._

The healing was soon complete, and Zelda paused to run a finger across the darkened scar. Outside the inn, the Domain was still abuzz with activity; King Dorephan's decree had set every Zora - noble or common - gossiping and speculating on who would be chosen to face the Gerudo.

"We've got to outpace that envoy," Link said as he rose from the bed.

The suggestion gave Zelda a start. "Wait, really?"

"The Gerudo didn't do this. They couldn't have. We need to warn them," Link explained. He looked out towards the plaza and the Zora that were milling about.

"No, I mean - you would be okay with us, with _me_ , travelling into the desert?"

Link shrugged, and spoke as though his words meant nothing. "You're a fighter, like I am. Out there is where we should be."

That was it then. Zelda rose as well, her exhaustion and grief falling away. She re-tied her robe, suddenly not caring that it was damaged. It would be mended in time.

"Then let's not waste a moment," she agreed, hooking her Sheikah Slate to her hip and beginning to bundle up her possessions. Link turned back towards her, his face quizzical.

"To the desert?" Zelda asked. She had to temper her eagerness lest she squeak as she spoke.

Link grinned, and he gave her a short, resolute nod. "To the desert," he said.

* * *

 **Apologies that this chapter went up later than I had planned. I just want to say that I really appreciate all the favourites/follows and reviews :) You guys make writing this fic a joy and so much more than the writing exercise that it was initially planned to be**


	7. Shield

**A/N: Hey friends. Ch 9 won't be up this weekend. Explanation at the end. My apologies!**

* * *

 _Lady Riju,_

 _I have gone into Central Hyrule to investigate the disappearance of one of our guards - Ayu. Teake will assume my position and will meet you in your throne room in the morning. It was better to leave under the cover of dark. And it was better that I told as few people as possible. I apologise for this, my lady._

 _Since Link's victory with the aid of Lady Urbosa, the security of the Gerudo has become paramount. I know that the disappearance of a lone guard seems insignificant, but I have reason for my haste. This guard who has disappeared - she is young. She only returned to Gerudo Town half a year past. She cannot be allowed to disgrace her people, nor can any Gerudo._

 _Do not trouble yourself with my well-being, or my investigation. Focus on your people, and on bolstering their strength. The Calamity may be over, but there will always be battles to fight. We are strongest when we work together - when we work as one._

 _I will return shortly._

 _Buliara_

* * *

Just like the rains, Zelda's tears had begun to let up. Even now, seeing the ruins of Hyrule Castle Town did little to move her. She had sat and watched from within that foul sanctum in the castle for one hundred years, gazing upon the destruction and decay that was once her home. During that time she'd felt her heart cool from molten to stone; but, as she had learned in the past few months, even stones could weep. _Like obsidian_ , she remembered, reflecting on her brief education on the minerals and ores of Hyrule. _Opaque, unflinching - but brittle as glass._ The attack on Vah Ruta had wrought true Impa's warning; darkness still loomed in Hyrule, and not all monsters could be simply sealed away.

The Sacred Grounds had become Zelda and Link's current stakeout, and the decayed Guardians that littered the ancient site their cover. Their enormous husks and wide cylindrical heads were large enough to camp behind, and tall enough to serve as suitable lookouts. Zelda suspected that it was superstition, not fear, that kept curious wanderers and bandits away from this site. In the days before the Calamity, the Royal Family had once venerated these Sacred Grounds, and the soon after that Royal Family were all killed.

 _Well,_ Zelda thought from her post atop a partially interred Guardian, _not all of us_.

A few days prior, Zelda and Link had stolen away from Zora's Domain under the beaming full moon. They slipped out of the city among the throng of Zora in the Central Plaza, their clothes still a little waterlogged, and their packs hastily thrown together. The Zora would not sleep that night, and in the morning their envoy of warriors and diplomats would descend down Zora's River towards the desert in the southwest. The pair surmised that two could travel faster than ten, which afforded them a head start as well as extra time. With that in mind, they decided to make a short detour through Hyrule Field to determine the status of Hyrule Castle.

"See anything?" Link asked, breaking into her reverie.

The knight was sitting cross-legged at the bottom of the Guardian husk, taking a whetstone to one of his fishing spears. The edge of the Sacred Grounds was barely half a mile from the entrance to Hyrule Castle Town, and so they had been alternating shifts watching the traffic to and from the ruined site. Zelda returned to the task at hand and peered through her scope. All was silent save the gentle rushing of water through the stream that bordered the Sacred Grounds, and the rhythmic _schhtk schhtk_ from Link's whetstone against the steel of the spearhead.

"More of the same," Zelda replied. "Guards along the walls. No one travelling through the main gates, but some Rito coming and going from the north. Some in Yiga garb. All with those blasted neckerchiefs."

"Any Gerudo?"

She quirked a brow, though she knew he wouldn't see. "I haven't seen _him_ , if that's what you're asking."

She heard Link grumble. When she looked down he was rubbing the sore spot on his ribs where the Gerudo male had thumped him with the hilt of his feathered Rito sword. Zelda had suggested he just heal himself with Mipha's power, but Link had shrugged off her suggestion. "I can't learn from a blow I don't feel," he'd explained.

 _So why did you heal me?_ Zelda wanted to ask, before deciding to just be grateful that he had. Even just touching the smooth scar from where that spear-wielder had caught her sent a shudder of sympathetic pain through her arm.

"It doesn't matter. Most likely both he and that woman drowned inside Vah Ruta," Zelda dismissed, sensing Link's dour mood.

"I'm not convinced," he muttered. In his hands he held the blue neckerchief that they had looted from their first attacker at the fork near the Lanayru Wetlands, and was wrapping and unwrapping it around his palm in an aggravated manner.

"I'll let you know as soon as I see him, since you're so desperate for a re-match," Zelda teased. Link just huffed, ignoring her taunt. She returned her attention to the Slate. She had been trying to do a rough count of the bandits' numbers, with minimal success. Despite the close range of their camp from Castle Town it was too hard to discern their true numbers - especially since so many seemed to be dressed in their full Yiga garb, hiding their faces and making the counting a chore. But from almost two days of surveying, Zelda knew one thing was clear: the 'new regime' that their first Yiga assailant spoke of had taken Hyrule Castle Town, and likely the castle itself. The news had little effect on her. She felt nothing in response but a cold pragmatism; if Hyrule Castle had been taken, she would take it back. _I am obsidian_ , she thought to herself again. Perhaps she was still brittle as the mountain glass - and likely to break at any moment. But obsidian could be made sharp, and deadly. Effective, despite its fragility.

A gentle tap on her arm interrupted her grim thoughts. "You want lunch?" Link had stood, and was looking up at her expectantly from the base of the Guardian husk, tapping her arm with the butt of his fishing spear.

"If you're making it." Zelda smiled down at him.

Link nodded and headed back towards their camp. "Anything in particular?"

"Whatever you'd prefer," she called back. Turning to look, she saw that he had raised his hand to give a thumbs' up as he walked away. She smiled in spite of herself, and returned her attention to the Slate.

It was hard to parse their travels together into something concrete; something recognisable as camaraderie or even a partnership. But since the attack on Vah Ruta, something had changed between herself and Link. Perhaps a mutual understanding, or a deeper trust that wasn't there before. They still bickered however; Link pushing his horse too hard, or Zelda not knowing the most efficient way to build a lean-to for shelter. Zelda had discovered - or perhaps rediscovered - that Link was incredibly touchy about his food. She had found that he kept a small, secret bag of honeycomb, wildberry, and apples among his things; when he discovered that she had taken a handful of each without asking first, he had been so annoyed that he sulked around their camp for almost a whole afternoon. It didn't help that she found his apparent dedication to _snacks_ absolutely hilarious, stifling chortles of laughter the entire time he'd chided her.

But their arguments never lasted long, and Zelda made amends for her transgression by using her powers to harvest a dozen apples and an entire beehive to give to Link. They cooked up a feast of honey-simmered apples that night, giggling like children as they tried to wrangle the honey from the empty hive. By the time she retired, fingers still sticky and redolent from the meal, Zelda was convinced that she and Link were no longer just two souls bound by circumstance; they were indeed friends, for whatever that was worth.

 _Once, in the distant past however, you were_ more _, weren't you_? Zelda had no answer for her own thoughts. It didn't matter now. Time, and sleep, and ruin had taken from them whatever they were before. Her focus had to be on rebuilding Hyrule. Her focus had to be on rebuilding herself.

Unable to concentrate, Zelda jumped down from the Guardian husk and returned to their camp among the evergreens that encircled the Sacred Grounds. She paused along the way to fish her Sheikan robe from the waters that surrounded the circular marble platform at the Grounds' centre. The bloodstain had finally begun to fade after repeated washes, though the white wool seemed to cling to the grizzly reddish-brown blotch. Zelda took the robe and spread it delicately over the marble floor so that it could dry in the sun, apologising mentally to the sweet Sheikah girl who had given it to her.

Sheltered by the evergreens, they ate a quick lunch of simmered fruit. Once they were done, Zelda decided there was no point lingering. Although there were no signs of the Zora envoy on the horizon, they needed to keep moving in order to reach Gerudo Town with enough time to warn Chief Riju. They finished breaking down camp just as the afternoon began to wane to evening, amber streaks of sunlight filtering through the leaves. Pulling on Paya's now-dry robe, Zelda mounted her horse as Link finished sorting out his pack; he had bottled no less than four jars of leftover honey from the beehive, and was gingerly trying to squeeze them into his already full food pouch. Eyes fixed on the aging stone, Zelda stepped her horse onto the marble platform. She looked down upon the engraving at its centre-the royal family crest, and three unrecognisable symbols within each triangle.

And then, at the very edges of her perception, she heard sounds originating from the direction of the castle-a trio of voices, the soft thudding of hooves upon the grass, and the neighs of horses being pulled to a halt. Zelda spun around to see three figures advancing slowly up the path towards the platform: two riders and a green-feathered Rito following on foot, a red and gold Falcon bow strapped to his back. She heard more hoofbeats, this time from Link's horse as he joined her on the platform. Zelda did not break her gaze from the advancing trio, but in her peripheral vision she saw Link slowly reach for his bow.

She did not recognise the Rito, nor the plain Hylian man astride his dappled mount - though she did recognise the blue neckerchiefs they wore, tied tight like a hangman's noose. But the rider leading the trio sent a bolt of fear arcing down her spine. Long black hair peeked out from her dark hood, framing a familiar face. Her height was no less intimidating than before, as was the long spear that she carried, its tip glinting brilliantly in the light of the afternoon sun. When she saw Zelda, the corners of her mouth twitched into a mocking smile.

"Evening's welcome, little mageling," the woman named Milagre gibbed, and then she bowed her head towards Link. "And to you."

 _You should be dead,_ Zelda wanted to shout, but the words were stuck in her throat. The phantom pain was in her shoulder again, and the terrible fear - the pounding of her heart and memories of the desperate, flailing attempts to defend herself against that woman - had seized her, and froze her tongue. It felt as though all her muscles had tensed at once. Neither she nor the riders moved. They were suspended between action and reaction; between strangers and rivals; between assailants and assailed.

Milagre turned to the Rito. "This is where you saw the smoke?"

"Last evening past, and this afternoon as well," the Rito replied, motioning towards the pile of glowing embers on the west side of the camp. Zelda scolded herself internally for forgetting about their fire. Her mind was racing; disjointed thoughts clouding her mind as she leapt between planning an escape and planning an attack. Beside her Link was posed at the ready, one hand on his reins, the other gripping his proud Rito bow. His face was steeled and stoic, but Zelda caught a familiar gleam in his eye. Assessing the situation, weighing his options; the knight once again.

"Good find," Milagre nodded, her exultant smile never leaving her lips. The Hylian man had been squinting at them intently - his brown eyes sizing them up, until a glimmer of recognition passed across his face.

He gave a start, and cried, "Mila! That's him, the Champion!"

"It certainly is," Milagre grinned. Her eyes moved to the Sheikah Slate at Zelda's belt. "And the magical slate as well."

"W-what do you want with that?" Zelda managed. Her horse sensed her fear, and began to stomp nervously. Milagre ignored her.

"Cinna wants the boy, and the slate," she told her companions. "Kill the girl if you must."

They all moved at once. The Rito drew his bow, but Link was faster. He sent a fizzling, bulbous arrow into the ground between themselves and the trio, and Zelda's horse reared at the sudden explosion.

"Run!" Link called to her. "Fast as you can!"

Together they kicked their horses into a gallop, and fled south through the copse, with Milagre and the Hylian man following closely behind. Behind her, Zelda heard the rush of air as the Rito took wing as well as a pained groan from the Hylian man. She turned to see the him topple from his saddle, one of Link's slender arrows embedded into his shoulder.

"Inglis!" Milagre shouted. She pulled up her horse by the Hylian man's side, but he waved her on.

"I'll be fine, Mila," he shouted, and pointed to the fleeing Link and Zelda. "After them!"

Zelda returned her attention forward. Her horse weaved through the trees, but the low branches scraped and scratched at her clothes. Emerging onto the rolling plains of Hyrule Field, Zelda felt a visceral terror rip through her as she sighted Milagre racing up the hill behind them, having abandoned the Hylian man named Inglis at the ruins. She pressed her horse harder to speed up, Link following not too far behind. Overhead the Rito had soared ahead in an attempt to cut them off; he dove, drew his bow and fired at Zelda. She raised a barrier just in time, and the arrows splintered in front of her face. In retaliation she sent a blast of energy lancing through the sky, but her shot went wide as she tried to split her focus between her aim and the unsteady gait of her galloping horse.

Link fired another arrow, this time towards the Rito. It flew low, and arced silently back towards the grass. "He's too far away!" Zelda yelled.

"Think we should let him close on us?" Link shot back, reaching for his quiver to draw another arrow. The second shot missed as well, disappearing into the amber sky. They thundered over the crest of a hill. Below them a crude gravel road appeared, leading southwest to some ruins farther afield. Link had turned his attention back towards Milagre, whose strong chestnut horse was gaining on them. He nocked another arrow into his bow, and raised it to fire.

"Sharp right!" Zelda shouted as they neared the road, and Link's torso pivoted as he picked up the reins to guide his horse through the turn. Reaching the road did not seem to help, as Milagre's faster horse continued to gain on them. The ruins were rushing forward to meet them, the road soon flanked on either side by tall trees. Zelda put her faith in her horse, and scanned through the trees for their Rito assailant. She saw a splash of green feathers against the amber sky, and raised her right hand. One, two, three lances of energy she sent towards the Rito. He dodged and dived, expertly evading all three shots before returning fire. Zelda flattened against her steed and heard the whistle of his arrows as they flew past. She cursed her lack of finesse, and squinted again through the trees.

"Keep going!" Link shouted at her. "He's pulling back!"

Zelda didn't understand. "What!?"

"Keep firing!"

The road was winding and uneven, and Zelda could feel her horse struggling on the shifting gravel beneath her hooves. She spotted the green-feathered Rito now flying slightly behind them. Using what felt like the last of her strength, she fired two more surges of energy at him. By some divine chance, the second beam connected and the Rito took the hit hard in the torso, dropping from the sky. He flapped his wings frantically like a hatchling as he fought to stay airborne. Link was leveling an arrow at Milagre, but could not get a precise read on their pursuer. They traded volleys of arrows back and forth along the twisting path, with more than one whistling past Zelda. The Rito had recovered, and now flew directly above Milagre. Beside Zelda, Link shouldered his bow, and closed his eyes.

"What are you doing!?" Zelda could not stop herself from shrieking. His face was taut, a deep scowl forming on his features. At first he didn't seem to hear her. Two more arrows soared past her horse. "Link!" she shouted again, and then his eyes snapped open. He turned and gave her the darkest look she had ever seen. A seething anger swam in his sapphire-blue eyes. No - it wasn't anger. It was fury.

Behind them, Milagre had nocked another arrow to her own bow, string taut and preparing to fire.

If Zelda had blinked, all that followed would have been lost to her. Link spun around in his saddle, and bringing his sword hand over his left shoulder, he snapped his fingers in the direction of their attackers. A barrage of lightning erupted behind them. It was followed closely by a deafening thunderclap and a shrill caw echoed through the field as the Rito plummeted from the sky. Zelda's mare spooked and nearly reared, but a swift kick urged her onward. Debris and dirt exploded on either side of the gravel road, and Zelda saw that Link's lightning surge had toppled half a dozen trees.

Milagre's horse whinnied and reared, trapped behind the pile of ignited tree trunks that now blocked the narrow path. Their pursuer recovered and, wheeling her horse around, gave them one last lingering scowl before fleeing back towards the castle. Zelda gaped over her shoulder at the scene, her ears still ringing from the thunderclap.

Link's voice pulled her out of her stupor, steady and stern. The knight as always. "Let's keep moving."

They banked further south, following the rough gravel path until it gave way to packed dirt. Night fell quickly, stars popping out one by one against a vast and endless sky. Zelda felt her heart slowly return to a natural rhythm, and she fought to push the echoing flashes of their escape down into the recesses of her memory. Finally the cliff faces of the Gerudo Canyon loomed ahead, and exhausted, Zelda slumped forward in her saddle. Beside her, Link was calm as a still sea. If he was tired he did not show it.

"That was actually quite impressive," Zelda said breathlessly as they approached the canyon stables. She saw the corners of Link's mouth prick up in response - a chink in his armour, giving way to the soul, and the friend, that she knew was underneath.

"Lady Urbosa's trick," he replied.

"A deadly one," Zelda muttered, though hearing the Gerudo Champion's name brought a wave of nostalgic warmth. Urbosa was still looking out for them, in her own way. _We'll need more tricks like that_ , Zelda decided.

* * *

Under the hot southern sun, and encircled by simmering lines of heat that rose up from the shifting sands of the Gerudo Desert, Kara Kara Bazaar was a welcome oasis - in every sense of the word. Link and Zelda had trekked through the eastern edges of the desert by night, not content to stay long at the bordering Canyon Stable. It seemed that the travelers of Hyrule prefered to find their adventures where the grass could still grow, for the oasis's inn was nearly empty, and the merchants of the Bazaar descended upon them like coyotes to carrion.

"Little vai!" a Gerudo crone cawed from her stall. "Little voe! Meat for your empty stomachs! No better price this side of Gerudo Town!"

And likely no _other_ price. If other oasis towns had sprung up in the barrens of the desert since the Calamity, Zelda could not know, but made a mental note to find out-. Peering towards the infinite southern horizon, she doubted that any had. What could hope to thrive in such a place besides the hardy and tradition-steeped Gerudo? Or the sandworms and Lizalfos that prowled through the dunes, waiting on some unfortunate soul to stray too far from the desert paths? _Certainly not the Zora,_ Zelda considered feeling a creeping anxiety clawing at the edges of her conscious. There was still no sign of the Zoran envoy, and Zelda was convinced they were still at least a day behind - a day that would allow herself and Link a small respite. Entering Gerudo Town would mean meeting with the Gerudo Chief, and assuming the role of the Princess once more. Zelda needed time before she could face that part of herself again.

Zelda spent her day of rest organising her belongings. Both her embroidered white undershirt and Sheikan robe had been mended; a tailor in the Bazaar had seen to that. She admonished Zelda about the bloodstains though, offering to try to wash them out.

"If you're going to fight girl, at least learn to clean your armour," the old Gerudo crone had chided, clicking her tongue and shaking her head. 'Armour' was not how Zelda would have described her clothes. In truth, they were barely practical. When she was younger she had loved the gold trimmings of her royal blue short-blouse, and the intricate embroidery on her undershirt. Now it all seemed superfluous, and none of it had protected her from Milagre's spear. And even in the cool of Kara Kara Bazaar, the searing heat of the Gerudo Desert made her normal traveler's clothes too warm to wear. With that in mind, Zelda set out to find more suitable attire for the desert heat. Splurging nearly half of her remaining rupees, she purchased from the tailor a lightweight cream singlet adorned at the neck with dangling sapphire-coloured gems, and donned it under her now well-worn royal blouse. A pair of Gerudo-made leather sandals finished off the outfit, as her old Hylian boots were too clunky for traversing the sands.

The elderly Gerudo tailor looked her up and down once she had finished changing behind the screen in her stall. "Pretty little vai, aren't you?" she grinned through yellowed teeth. "You almost look like you belong here."

Zelda politely laughed off the woman's comments, though she felt secretly elated at finally owning some new clothes. How long had it been? _At least one hundred years_ , she thought dryly. The newfound lightness of her purse however brought her less joy. What she had - _all_ she had - was loaned to her by Link, and she had no great desire to turn him into her personal banker. Regardless, she was happy at least to feel a little more comfortable in the hot afternoon air.

Link too was struggling under the heat; he'd swapped out his familiar Hylian trousers for some patterned Gerudo slacks capped with a pair of golden sandals, and wore an ornate cobalt spaulder over his cream undershirt. And though his Gerudo garb was likely embedded with sapphires to ward off the heat, she found him chowing down on a small heap of equally cool hydromelons. He was sitting contentedly by the west edge of the oasis, and by the looks of it was tucking into his third melon.

He seemed to startle when he saw her, pausing mid-bite before mumbling a muffled _hello_. She sat down beside him, removed her sandals, and dangled her feet in the oasis, feeling the bite of the chilly waters in her bones. Link handed her a slice of hydromelon, which she took gladly. Upon the red cliffs that bordered the horizon, the body of Divine Beast Vah Naboris towered above the desert. The morning sun was caught behind her, and her shadow stretched across the rocky cliffs and sloping sands.

 _Another Beast that needs us_ , Zelda mused. She made a mental note to run remote diagnostics on Naboris, though she suspected that she would find the Gerudo's Divine Beast in a similar condition as Ruta; stable, still, and crawling with Malice. Zelda cringed at the thought of attempting the cleansing ritual again.

 _You are a fighter_ , she reminded herself stubbornly. Her eyes slid to the boy happily munching on a slice of hydromelon beside her, remembering the words she had spoken in another life. _Courage does not make you immortal…._

She refocused her thoughts on Naboris, and to the Beast's original pilot. "It was lucky that you had Urbosa's power," she commented. "That Rito was a strong flyer."

Link hummed in agreement, taking another bite of hydromelon. Swallowing, he said, "All the powers are useful. Feels like I don't deserve them."

"Don't say that. They were gifts," Zelda reproached.

Link shrugged. "They still aren't really _mine_."

"Well, I'm grateful anyway," Zelda continued. "And, I know I wasn't much help, back there. I can do something with my powers. But I don't know how to _use_ them. I feel like...like a child wielding a toy sword."

Link lowered his slice of hydromelon into his lap, his face pensive with deliberation. After a few moments, he said, "We can work on that."

"Pardon?"

He scratched his chin; nonchalant, as though he'd not mind if she turned down his idea. "I remember some of Otra's shield drills," he said, recalling the leather-faced Battlemaster. " _The dance of death,_ he called it. Drop your shield, and forfeit your life."

Link rubbed the sore spot on his ribs. "That _Gerudo_ reminded me."

Zelda wasn't sure how to react. She knew the prospect of honing her abilities was one she should take. But training with the Hero, training with _Link..._ Even the thought of it put her under pressure. She swallowed her trepidation; darkness loomed on the horizon of her Hyrule once again, and there was no time for hesitation.

"A good idea," she conceded. The sun had risen high above the cliffs now, and the shadows of the Bazaar had shifted so that she and Link were sitting in the sun. Zelda felt beads of sweat form on her forehead. "I think we should head to Gerudo Town near evenfall," she suggested. "I hear it's cooler inside the city."

Link shifted awkwardly where he sat, lowering his slice of hydromelon to the ground. "I'll need to borrow the Slate before we go then."

"Any reason?" Zelda asked, not understanding the cause for his apprehension.

"I'll need to get changed," he said frankly, and realising what he meant, Zelda brought a hand to her mouth to hide her grin.

"Right, how could I forget?" Zelda teased, suppressing a chuckle. Link elbowed her arm in retaliation, a slightly petulant smile on his face, and her chuckle became a peal of laughter. The sound floated across the near-empty Bazaar. The crones of the oasis turned from their stalls, and the travelers lifted their bowed heads to look for the source of the noise. An elderly vendor shook her head, and muttered to herself as she adjusted her goods. "Honeymooners," she clicked her tongue. "They're all the same."

* * *

The little chief leaned forward in her tall throne, chin in her hand and sparkling emerald eyes skeptical as she assessed the two Hylian vai that stood before her. Zelda caught herself holding her breath again as she waited for the Gerudo child to voice her thoughts.

Chief Riju finally spoke. "The Princess of Hyrule died during the Calamity, or so I was told."

"I have no proof beyond my word, I know that," Zelda admitted. _Of course_ the Chief would not believe her. Riju was barely more than a girl; the Calamity wasn't history for her, it was legend. "And I know that isn't enough. I'm asking you to trust me."

Riju's eyes moved back and forth between Link and Zelda, and then she looked towards her bodyguard, an imposing woman whose brown eyes darkened with suspicion.

"What do you think, Teake?" she asked the woman.

"Chief Riju is right," the Gerudo woman declared. Her hands gripped the hilt of a golden claymore that was almost as tall as Zelda, and her strong physical physique was almost as daunting as her glare. "The Champions of old are dead. The Royal Family is as well. This is known."

"Link?" Riju said, leaning back in her throne. Behind his veil, Link's eyes went wide.

"Well, uh there's-" he began.

"My identity doesn't matter now," Zelda interrupted, her patience running thin. They had spotted the Zora envoy on the horizon that morning. It would arrive in Gerudo Town within a few hours; this was their only chance to mitigate any political mishap. "If you trust Link then you can trust me. And you need to listen to what we have to say."

Lady Riju sat patiently as Zelda explained their escapades in full; starting with Sidon's injury, and then the Yiga woman near Lanayru Wetlands, and then finally the attack on Vah Ruta and the King's decree to send an envoy into the desert.

"They think that you did this. To steal their Divine Beast and take it for your own," Zelda warned.

Riju's glare was as intimidating and sharp as Teake's claymore. "And what do you think?"

Link and Zelda exchanged a nervous look. It was Zelda who spoke. "I once had a good friend - a mentor - who was Gerudo," she explained, careful not to say the Gerudo Champion's name. "Your people would not do this. I believe that."

"Of course we would not!" Teake growled, tapping her claymore impatiently against the colourful tiles of the throne room. "What use do the Gerudo have with that Beast?"

"Water," Zelda said plainly. "In the right hands Vah Ruta could flood all of Hyrule."

"We _have_ water," the Gerudo guard spat. She turned to the little chief. "This is preposterous, Lady Riju, you must agree?"

Riju's face was unmoving, though her eyes were shadowed. There was a keenness in them not typical of a girl her age, though Zelda detected a hint of doubt on the young Gerudo's features. "I will need to think on it," she said quietly, rising from her throne. "Link, Zelda. Thank you for your warning. I ask that you leave us. I must speak with my advisors."

"A small piece of advice, Lady Riju, if I may," Zelda said. "The Zora are proud - frighteningly so. Wrong though they may be on this matter, we cannot risk antagonising them."

The young Gerudo seemed to heed her words, nodding deeply, but Teake slammed her claymore against the tiles yet again. "The Chief does not need advice from a commoner, little vai. Friend to Link though you may be, the Gerudo can handle this threat just fine."

"Of course," Zelda inclined her head respectfully, ignoring the surge of indignant fury she felt, and turned with Link to leave the audience chamber.

As expected, the Zora envoy arrived at the entrance of Gerudo Town by nightfall. And following King Dorephan's decree, five warriors wielding silver spears and five diplomats wielding silver quills had crossed Hyrule to Gerudo Town. Lady Riju, her guard Teake, and a retinue of Gerudo guards lined the gates of the city, heads held high and weapons held close as the envoy approached. Link and Zelda stood by the Daqo Chisay Shrine on the northeast corner of the city walls, watching and waiting for the eventual meeting. Link hadn't bothered to change back into his Gerudo armour, and Zelda was tempted to ask if she could borrow his cobalt spaulder. She imagined that the feeling of the cool metal against her skin and the pinch of the armour's buckles would make her feel strong - protected even, and at ease.

 _They won't kill each other on sight_ , she tried to reassure herself, though she wasn't sure.

Among the warriors Zelda recognised a sinewy grey-scaled Zora. It was Rilla, the woman who had fought beside them at Vah Ruta. Was it political savvy or misjudgement to send someone so affected by the attacks? Would it serve to garner sympathy from the Gerudo, or inflame tensions between them? She tried to remember her meager political education, racking her brain for whatever lessons she had been taught on effective communication and efficient negotiation. Perhaps Link wasn't the only amnesiac between the two of them, she realised. That or she had never paid attention to her studies...

The diplomats of the Zora entourage were carrying woven canopies to shield from the sun, and the group was lead by a female, cerulean-scaled Zora who was also familiar to Zelda. Her once-simple attendant's jewels had been updated to ornate, silvery finery, and she walked with a measured peacefulness that was graceful even for a Zora. Approaching the gates, the Zora planted their canopies in the hot sand. Zelda came upon the twin realisations that the Zora all wore leather sandals like hers, and that she had never seen Zora in _shoes_ before.

The cerulean-scaled Zora approached Lady Riju's retinue, and gave a shallow bow, before extending her long-fingered hands forwards. "Lady...Riju, I am told. My name is Larella; I am an attendant to King Dorephan, and a diplomat of the Zora."

 _You've been promoted_ , Zelda thought wryly as she watched the exchange, remembering the harsh words and sugary sweet smiles of Lady Larella. The young Gerudo did not take the ambassador's hands into her own. "Yes. Well met," she said, her tone cool enough to temper the desert heat.

"You were told of our arrival?" Larella asked sweetly, a sharp smile never leaving her face.

Riju nodded in assent, but did not give away the two Hylians that stood watching from the shrine's shadow. "The Gerudo travel across all of Hyrule. We are not as isolated as we appear."

"Then do you know why we have come, Lady Riju?" Larella's sweet tone was faltering, and her smile had slipped. Zelda felt her guts turning over, sweat trickling down her brow. The day's heat was still radiating from the sands, clinging to her skin and adding to her already overwhelming discomfort.

"Don't antagonise them," she pleaded under her breath.

Riju looked towards her advisors. The trio of women each carried a golden spear just as the guards did, and were only distinguishable by the colour of their clothes; their garb was a stunning white and grey, where the guards wore soft pinks and navy blue. The women nodded in unison, with one adding, "It is for the best, Lady Riju."

The petite chief turned back towards Larella, her long braids shifting in the gentle evening breeze.

"We have," she told the ambassador. "And for your accusations against us, we reject your envoy. You will not be entering our city."

A stunned silence swept through the Zoras. For a long moment even Ambassador Larella - with her winning smiles and polite round eyes - gaped blankly down at the young Gerudo Chief. Zelda watched in disbelief. Lady Riju would have shocked the Zora less if she had slapped Ambassador Larella across the face.

Riju was on the offensive. She was half the size of the Zora Ambassador, but in the afternoon sun her shadow was as long as any other. "Provide us proof that this incident was _our_ design," she pronounced, "otherwise we have nothing to discuss."

"With respect, Lady Riju," Larella said slowly, gathering her shock into words. "Three Gerudo warriors were seen at the docks of Rutala Dam. One of our number can testify to this."

Teake took great offense to Larella's words. "And because they were Gerudo, Lady Riju _alone_ must have sent them."

"I never said that. And you cannot bar us - at least not the women!" Larella protested, her facade now entirely dropped.

"I have no wish to see your people harmed by the desert, but I cannot let you into my city. I must think of my people," Riju countered. "My advice is simply that you leave."

Larella's fists curled with outrage. " _That_ will not happen. Not until we have answers."

Riju was unaffected by Larella's protests. From where they stood, Zelda saw a fierceness in the young chief's face; where the Zora were proud, the Gerudo were ruthless, and it was clear that they were never destined to get along. Lady Riju spoke calmly, compassion softening her features briefly. "Then I hope, Ambassador Larella, that the desert is kind to you. And that you and your people are prepared to wait."

The Gerudo Chief nodded to her retinue, and in a single file they returned through the gates of Gerudo Town. Four guards remained, their spears tilted forward slightly. Their posture and display was clear: _none shall enter_.

The Zora were dumbfounded, standing awkwardly at the city gates for a number of minutes after Riju departed, talking amongst themselves. Eventually they regrouped, and began the dismal trek back towards Kara Kara.

Link was the first to speak. His brows were furrowed, his arms tightly crossed against his chest. "This isn't good," he said matter-of-factly. Zelda almost laughed at the absurdity of their situation, but despair had its hands about her throat.

"No," she agreed, bowing her head. The desert heat had given way to a chill, and her shoulder throbbed with dull soreness. Above, the moon hung low on the horizon, the final dusk light painting it a grizzly red - an omen of vicious cycles, of violence, and altercations, as certain as the moonrise itself.

* * *

Kara Kara Bazaar was in chaos. The desert oasis was never meant to be more than a watering hole for weary travelers; the inn had no more than four beds spare at any time, space was limited, and the weathered rocks that bordered the Bazaar did little to ward the desert winds. The Bazaar was simply not capable of harboring the ten bedraggled and irritable Zora that trudged in late that evening, though the locals pounced to take advantage of the situation. The price of a bed at the inn suddenly doubled, with the Gerudo crones of the Bazaar offering space in their stalls for almost double the original cost of a bed at the inn. Wounded in pride and vulnerable in spirit, the Zora had no choice but to accept, though the warriors among them wasted no time loudly proclaiming the _cruelty_ of the Gerudo and their lack of moral finesse. And it took little time for the Gerudo to regret letting the Zora into their Bazaar at all. The envoy swiftly snapped up what meager food and goods the merchants could produce within the next couple of days, and even that was not enough. Hunger and heat pervaded the Bazaar during the Zoras' lockout from Gerudo Town, until every soul in Kara Kara slept and woke with the uneasy feeling they were likely to be jumped at any moment.

Link was among the restless sleepers; there were too many eyes upon him, and all were suspicious. He lamented the sleepless nights spent at the Bazaar and secretly looked forward to each dawn. Morning's welcome meant he could steal off back towards Gerudo Town, and spend the sun-lit hours at Zelda's side - stepping through their routines as though they were a dance.

Ambassador Larella in her silverite jewels had made the trek alone to the gates of Gerudo Town the very next day after the envoy's arrival. Link and Zelda never discovered what transpired between the Zora woman and the city guards, but by the end of the second day, the Ambassador had been allowed to enter the city - so long as she was alone, unarmoured, and escorted by no less than two Gerudo guardswomen.

Riju had permitted Zelda and Link to be present in the audience chamber during the meetings, but the discussions yielded nothing. The Gerudo Chief flatly denied any involvement by her people; her arguments were echoed by Teake and punctuated with the clang of Teake's weapon against the tile. Link squinted at the imposing Gerudo guard.

"Where's Buliara?" he muttered under his breath.

"Pardon?" Zelda whispered. In a low voice, Link explained that on his first visit to Gerudo Town since waking, Teake had been the leader of the city guard. There was another woman appointed Riju's personal guard - Buliara.

"But she's not here," he whispered.

The Hylians turned their attention back to the talks. Larella was set on finding those responsible for the attack. "We would at least like an attempt at identifying the Gerudo assassins - whether or not they were sent by you," Larella explained, her calm demeanor never wavering. "There were four - three female, and one male."

Teake thumped her claymore so hard against the tiles that Link thought for a moment that they would shatter. "There are no male Gerudo. They are not just let free to roam."

"Well, this one clearly was. He was seen by our witness," Larella argued. She cast a sidelong glance at Link and Zelda. "And by others who survived the attack."

Riju was reclining in her throne, her head cocked lazily to the side and resting against her fist. She suddenly leaned forward, and waved a jeweled hand in the direction of the Zora ambassador, her bangles ringing like bells.

"This will be enough for today," she announced. "I'm afraid our response will be the same however; I did not send those warriors, and I have no idea who among our people did. It is that simple."

Larella curtseyed as Riju and her bodyguard exited the throne room. Once they were alone, her eyes fixed on the two Hylians who remained in the room.

"Curious to find you here, Princess, Champion," she sniffed as she approached. "Your presence is almost a bad omen for my people, it seems."

"And here I was about to praise your tact in the discussions with Lady Riju, Ambassador," Zelda returned.

The corners of Ambassador Larella's mouth were raised, though her eyes remained cold. "Curious indeed. Riju was kind not to name you as her informant."

"She needed to be warned," Link cut in.

Ambassador Larella sighed, crossing her slender arms below her chest. "Yes, and warned she was, by two Hylians with no understanding of the situation."

"W-We _do_ understand!" Zelda huffed. "We were there, as you pointed out!"

" _Do_ you understand? Your _warning_ ruined any chance of a civil discussion between our two races. The Gerudo are on the defensive; even if they had information, they will never share it now. Had you considered that!?"

"I, no-"

"No. As I thought." The Ambassador stormed out of the throne room, her jewels clinking as she disappeared into the crowded Gerudo plaza.

Lady Riju had tried to include the two Hylians in the discussions; she asked them to recount their tale of the attack, and to describe this mysterious male Gerudo and his band of warriors. More often than not, it was Zelda who spoke. Link was happy to slip back into his comfortable silence - though he found himself frustrated by the entire affair. Hyrule Castle was besieged by bandits and Yiga, and they were stuck in the desert listening to a petty squabble of _who did what_ and _who sent who_. Zelda had brushed off his idea to broach the subject of Hyrule Castle with the Gerudo and the Zora, citing it as unimportant in the eyes of the other races.

"They won't believe us. Well, perhaps they would believe _you_ ," she had said, an icy bitterness laden in her words. "And in any case our only proof is a handful of neckerchiefs and the word of a dead Yiga woman that these bandits have formed themselves into something more. We don't even know if they truly have taken the castle - not that the Zora or Gerudo have reason to care about a ruin."

Her voice was grave, and he saw in her eyes a doubt that he thought was long gone. "In truth, I don't know if Riju is being completely truthful," Zelda admitted. "I asked her about Buliara, you know. She told me the woman was _on leave._ It's almost as though...as though she was withholding something."

Politics was not the kind of fight Link was well-versed in, and so he trusted Zelda's judgement. It was admirable, really. She had spent every moment outside of the diplomatic meetings learning about the Gerudo as a people: how they had changed since the Calamity, ifthey _had_ changed; who Riju was, and why she had been made Chief at such a young age; and the state of the Yiga, though curiously there was little to be said about them.

 _There's a new regime come for Hyrule..._ Link remembered the words of the dead Yiga with a chill. But he knew, despite his lack of political expertise, that the proud Zora and stubborn Gerudo would eventually have to budge under their own mutual pressure. They couldn't stay locked in this limbo forever.

Link didn't like to admit it, but his frustrations didn't end there. Before he and Zelda walked into the desert, he'd felt like maybe he was starting to move forward. Build something new out of the scraps of memory and feeling that he held. The familiar weight of his crossbow at his belt was enough to make him sure of it. And in the face of adversity, it was easy to slip into silence, to focus on being _the knight_. But now his patience was beginning to wane, and a growing sense of listlessness had begun to creep into his psyche. _Is this all we are?_ _Destined to fight, and fight, in a kingdom that barely cares_. There seemed to be no break on the horizon, no welcome shore at the end of the sea. As Link was learning, even fighters long for peace.

* * *

Not content to sit on her hands while she tried to think of a solution to break the stalemate, Zelda accepted Link's offer of sparring lessons. Riju had been kind to include her in discussions, and to educate her about the Gerudo people, but still Zelda could think of no solutions that would be amenable to both parties. The bickering and unwillingness to cooperate on both sides were beginning to wear on her. Maybe a few hours hitting something with a stick would be a welcome diversion, if a bit of a novel one...

Still dressed in his Gerudo vai outfit, Link told her to meet him atop the city's walls at the first sign of dusk. The walls served a double purpose: they also acted as water channels, distributing the cool, clean water from the high spring that Gerudo Town was built around. Standing atop the walls, she and Link were ankle deep in the clear waters.

"I don't understand - we'll be practising up here?" Zelda asked him on the evening of their second day in Gerudo Town.

"Certainly will," Link answered, throwing her a long training spear. She caught it clumsily, almost tripping as she splashed through the water.

"But, the water-"

"Keeps your footing measured. We'll move onto the wall's edge when you're ready."

"That-that's an eight foot drop!"

"Then don't fall."

Zelda was incensed. "Are you _insane_?"

Link shrugged. _Who knows?_ Shifting his weight forward, he brought his training spear to bear.

They started with simple sparring drills; two steps backwards, two steps forward, attack, block, repeat. Link explained that having something tactile to hold would help her learn the steps, judge her own movements, _hear the song_ , as he called it. They moved slowly at first, the waters pulling at Zelda's feet, and her untrained eyes struggling to react to Link's broad swings and stabs. But gradually, over the course of the evening, her reflexes became keener, her movements faster. The next night they advanced to incorporating Zelda's magic; each block with her spear would be accompanied by a small barrier of light, and by the third evening of their practice, Link told her to forego the spear entirely. She would rely on her magic alone from then onwards. Stepping through the same drills, he had her parrying stabs and swings from all directions - and by the fourth evening, she felt she could glide through the channel waters.

"Don't drop your shield," he instructed on what what would be their last evening of their practice. The tip of his training spear had glanced off Zelda's forearm as she misjudged his advance. "Drop your shield and-"

"I know, I know," Zelda said through gritted teeth, the sting throbbing along her arm as she readjusted her footing. "It's not exactly easy to maintain."

"Focus on your timing then." He shifted his weight to his right foot, spinning the spear through a horizontal slice. Zelda leapt backwards, dodging the strike. Two steps forward, two steps back. Link spun the spear between his hands. He arced the spear towards her again, across her left shoulder, and then the right, and she blocked both attacks. Unflinching, he stepped through another thrust. Zelda parried, surging forward through the water. The spear rebounded off the sheet of golden light. Link stumbled, and slipped backwards, the waters splashing around him as he landed heavily on the tiles of the channel.

Zelda let her barrier fall, and held a hand out to him. "Not bad," he grinned up at her.

"You were going easy on me," Zelda shrugged as she helped him stand. He furrowed his brows, offended at the accusation. Zelda rolled her eyes, and motioned to the Master Sword at his back. He wore it almost constantly now. "I know how you fight." _I've seen almost every battle_ , she thought.

They clambered down from the high walls, landing in the now-quiet plaza. A few merchants still tended their stalls, and a handful of Gerudo women wandered through the bazaar, slightly drunk and cackling amongst themselves at gossip and jokes alike.

"We'll start on the wall's edge tomorrow," Link told her before they parted; he disliked sleeping in the Gerudo City, but struggled to explain why. A lingering sense that he didn't belong; the discomfort of sleeping in his Gerudo garb; or maybe just the need to keep an eye on things in the Bazaar. Then again, his reports back to her in the mornings were never good.

Zelda still was not sold on the reckless idea. She liked the feeling of the waters at her feet, the way the they cushioned her when she fell.

"Are you certain?" she questioned skeptically. "If I fall and hurt myself, I'll be blaming you, I hope you know."

"You won't fall," Link told her. "I won't let you."

There was a fondness in his voice to rival the warmth of the desert sands, and Zelda found herself suddenly reassured. She was a fighter, and she could face that challenge...as well as any others.

* * *

Link rose before dawn on the sixth day of their stay in Gerudo Desert. Food was still scarce in the Bazaar, so Link slipped his golden sandals on and walked into the desert to hunt some sand sparrows for his breakfast. He was crouched low among the sparse desert plants for cover, eyes focused on a trio of oblivious sparrows half nestled in the sand. Un-shouldering his Great Eagle bow and drawing back an arrow, he silently paid his respects to the Rito Champion who once wielded it. _Smug prat,_ he added mentally, though he realised his disdain for Revali was now gone - tempered by time. All that was left was loss. Link lined up his shot, gaze centering on the small birds.

A blotch of grey and blue caught his eye, and Link snapped his gaze to the side to see a pair of Zora warriors stalking through the desert - no more than a hundred feet away. Observing the spears in their hands, Link guessed they had the same idea as he did. Unfortunately, their presence alerted his prey, and the sand sparrows zipped away. Link loosed his arrow, but the birds were gone. He puffed his cheeks in frustration, and turned back towards the Zoras.

Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or the low light, or the distracting rumbling of his stomach - Link did not react quickly enough to prevent the tragedy that then unfolded before his eyes. A moment too late, he spotted the spiny contours of a partially embedded and well-camouflaged electric Lizalfos less than ten feet from the Zora warriors. It exploded out of the sand with a screech, a menacing jagged boomerang clutched in one of its bony claws. The grey-scaled Zora had no time to react. The boomerang savagely sliced across her neck, and she fell away from the Lizalfos, tumbling limply through the sand. Her blue-scaled companion screamed in shock, but stood firm, brandishing his silver spear defensively. However, the shifting sand slid underneath his sandaled feet, and unaccustomed to fighting on the loose grit, the Zora floundered. Link bolted from his hiding place, right hand instinctively reaching for another arrow. He drew and released the arrow before he even registered his own movements, and watched as the Lizalfos toppled, an arrow lodged in its unprotected throat. The blue-scaled Zora warrior cried out again in surprise, but quickly regained his footing. He stalked to the corpse purposefully, stabbing his spear through the body to ensure its death.

Link dashed across the sand towards the two Zoras, hoping against hope that he would not find what experience taught him would be there. The blue-scaled Zora was already hunched in the sand, distraught over the body of the other warrior. Link fell to his knees at their side, but hesitated helplessly; there was nothing more that he could do.

Her grey eyes were open still, and though her expression was clouded, Link was struck by the openness of her features. She was young. Too young. With horror, Link realised that he recognised her. The female Zora had fought at his side on Rutala Dam. She had been nimble, and ferocious with a spear.

"Rilla," he whispered, almost flinching at his own voice. The dread twisted his guts and sent a ominous shiver down his spine; it felt like a premonition, like an omen. Fighting back his own grief, he solemnly closed the young woman's eyes, and helped her companion carry her back to the Bazaar.

If there was upheaval in Gerudo Desert before, it was unmatched by the panic and paranoia that gripped Kara Kara once the sun fully rose. The warriors and diplomats mourned over Rilla's body as she was carried into the Bazaar, and before long there were those among them crying for retribution. _Rilla would not have died if she had been safe within Gerudo Town_ , they claimed. The Zoras' endeavor for diplomacy had been met with no attempt at hospitality; though the Gerudo may deny a role in the attack on Vah Ruta, they were implicit in the death of Rilla.

Link had sprinted through the desert towards Gerudo Town, shaking Zelda from her bed at the inn, and there was barely enough time to explain the incident. They ran down to the east city gates and were met with a riot. The Zora envoy had swarmed the main gates of Gerudo Town, shouting and screaming for Lady Riju to face justice for Rilla's death. The Gerudo Chief was not cowed. She had met them at the gates, her voice somehow rising above the rabble. To appease them, Riju had offered to permit the remaining female Zora into the town, but it was too late. Even Ambassador Larella could not calm the fury of her people and their anguish over the needless death of their youngest warrior.

The Gerudo guards stood firm, their spears and shields angled forward - a phalanx against any who would besiege their city - and the Zora flashed their own silver spears, a silent threat ready to explode into violence. Link and Zelda watched from within the city walls, unable to approach the agitated crowd.

Link was not sure who moved first. One of the spears caught the sun as either a Zora or a Gerudo (or perhaps _both_ ) suddenly shifted forward, and the fighting began.

The shouts erupted into the morning air, Ambassador Larella and her diplomats frantically pleading for the four remaining warriors to stand down. Link drew his sword, mind racing as he tried to find a way to stop the fight before another catastrophe unfolded. He could not fight them, lest he add fuel to the fire; but he could not stop them alone. The eight spear-wielders - four Gerudo guards and four Zora warriors - hot-footed across the packed dirt at the city gates, trading blows and swipes, until there was a horrid shriek as one of the Gerudo guards took a spearhead to the side and crumpled into the sand.

Suddenly, a sheet of shining light unfolded between the two parties - and at its centre was Zelda, having slipped away from Link's side unnoticed before throwing herself into the fray.

"Enough!" she yelled. " _Please_!"

The warriors and guards were separated, unable to cross the divine barrier. Link caught Ambassador Larella's stunned glare as she tried to process the scene before her.

The Gerudo guards tentatively lowered their spears. Two women broke off and gathered around the injured guard, assessing her injury. She was badly wounded, collapsed on the ground, but her eyes fluttered open as her fellows carried her away. _She's alive_. Link felt his tension slowly dissipate. One of Riju's advisors was escorting her away, and Link saw that the young Chief's determination had given way to despair.

Ambassador Larella marched over to face her warriors, placing herself between them and the barrier. "You heard the Princess, fools. Stand down."

Sullen and sour, the remaining warriors lowered their spears as well, grumbling indignantly among themselves. Zelda lowered her glowing hand, and tottered unsteadily. Link shot forward through the sand to meet her, wrapping an arm around her side as he steadied her. She was blinking at him slowly, clearly still dazed by the fighting and by her own sudden exertion. Eventually she shook herself free of his grip, and staggered over to the clustered Zora.

"Go back to Kara Kara," she told them. "Just...get away from the city. Until the evening at least. Mourn your fallen warrior, and then you _must decide_ , Ambassador Larella. Stay and risk more of your people, or go and put this behind you."

The Ambassador was distraught, her eyes haunted and hollow. She nodded wordlessly, and turned back to her party. With a single wave of her hand and a despondent flick of her fins, she urged them back out into the desert, heading for the shimmering oasis to the east.

Link accompanied the Zora to escort the party safely back to the Bazaar, while Zelda remained to talk with Lady Riju. He was glad to at least be travelling during the cool hours of the morning, and he suspected Ambassador Larella too was grateful for the short respite from the stifling heat. _She has enough on her shoulders now_ , he thought. Whatever peace he had been waiting for - that he hoped Zelda could help the Zora and the Gerudo find - seemed lost now. He raised his head to the sun and closed his eyes, trying to let the surge of disquiet pass, trying to reassure himself that there was still hope. _Zelda will know what to do...right?_

"We should do more than just mourn," one of the warriors grumbled once they were halfway to the oasis. His face was knotted and stern, his reddish scales dulled by the dust from the desert flats, though his breastplate and spear were shining from being over-polished. "We should get revenge. The Gerudo may as well have murdered Rilla, for the way they have treated us." Murmured assent from his fellow Zoras followed his statement, nods of agreement rippling through the group.

"You will do no such thing," Larella ordered, but Link detected a muted sneer on the male warrior's face. The dissenter tossed his head dismissively, rolling his broad shoulders.

"Whatever you say, Ambassador," he cooed. "I'm just offering my aid - you have your words, and I have my spear."

"That's enough, Rhett," Larella spat, marching ahead and distancing herself from the warriors. She passed the rest of the journey to Kara Kara in conversation with one of the older diplomats, dissecting her thoughts and planning their next moves in their dealings with the Gerudo. The warriors on the other hand recommenced their whispered conversation among themselves. As the party crested the final sloping dune before Kara Kara proper, the four remaining warriors suddenly branched off, circling east around the Bazaar and racing towards the mountains at the edge of the desert.

"Hey! Hey!" Larella shouted after them. "What are you doing!?"

The warriors paid her no mind, not even sparing a backward glance as they sped across the desert. Link traced their path, shading his eyes against the sun and squinting along the cliffs in the direction that the warriors were headed. Caught in the morning sun, her twin humps rising out of the mountain facade as though they were a part of the landscape itself, Link saw the warriors' destination. His mouth ran dry, and he staggered back in astonishment.

They were heading for Vah Naboris.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you again to everyone for the lovely reviews and support :)**

 **Ch 9 update: My uni work definitely caught up with me, but also there's a scene in Ch 9 that I wanted to give more time to. It's a core point in the story and it'd be unfair to this work and to you guys to rush it. I hope you can understand when Ch 9 eventually drops, most likely mid next week or next weekend!**


	8. Allay

_The path towards the Master Sword had been set. Link would cross the Hylia River and head to Rauru Settlement, and then travel northwards to the Lost Woods. No one had offered him much in the way of advice; not the King, nor Chief Advisor Voswann. On the day that the young knight had been chosen to seek the Sword, however, Voswann had grasped his shoulders with shaking hands, and had said that Hyrule would be proud of him no matter what. Link found himself unconvinced._ My Father might not be _, he had thought._

 _Otra of Old Lurelin, the King's own Battlemaster, met him at the guards' quarters the day Link was due to depart. His was the only word that Link trusted now. The broad-chested Battlemaster greeted Link with a fatherly thump on the back._

" _Are you afraid, boy?" he asked, his voice booming._

 _Link didn't know what to say. He shrugged and shifted his weight between his feet. Otra chuckled._

" _There is no shame in it. Courage does not mean you cannot feel fear." The Battlemaster turned his gaze towards the north. "And in any case, getting that sword will be easy."_

" _If you say so," Link smiled up at his old teacher, the smile feeling strangely hollow._

" _You need not fear the Woods, or the Sword, Link," Otra's voice was suddenly sad. "Fear what comes after. That is the real challenge."_

* * *

By the time Link and Zelda arrived at Vah Naboris, the Zora warriors were already approaching the base of Spectacle Rock, and would be less than an hour away from the Divine Beast. The gleam of their silverite armour had been dulled by the dust and dirt of Gerudo Desert, but there was nothing to temper their rage, or their foolishness.

"They'll get themselves all killed!" Zelda had cried when Link told her the news of the warriors' mad dash towards the Divine Beast. He had found her outside Riju's throne room, leaning against the warm sandstone walls of Gerudo Town, and guessed that little had come of her emergency talks with the Chief. But there was no time to discuss the altercation at the gates. To reach Naboris in time, the Hylians had no choice but to risk teleporting together via the Sheikah Slate - just as they had in Zora's Domain.

 _That time, Sidon's life was on the line; we had no choice_. Link thought. And with a sinking feeling he realised: _we never have a choice._

From Vah Naboris's travel gate, Link scanned the plateau for any signs of the Zora warriors, his hand instinctively reaching to his sword hilt.

"There's nothing you can do, Link," Zelda said, hand on his elbow to usher him inside. "The Zora are still a way off."

The main chamber of Vah Naboris was an enormous cylinder of ancient darkened stone, hollow save for the walkways that interlaced to meet the central main control unit. A long green strip of luminescence ran like a spinal cord across the floor, pulsating gently with the electrical energy that powered Naboris; the sort that would mean certain death for any Zora who came within one hundred feet of the Divine Beast. Link and Zelda's best option to prevent such a thing was to pilot Vah Naboris into the desert, and hide her within the sandstorms that raged in the southwest.

While Zelda ran a quick diagnostic on Vah Naboris, Link occupied himself by taking a mental inventory of the Malice remaining within the Beast. To his relief, there was very little left - nowhere near as much as was within Vah Ruta. What was it that Zelda had told him? _Malice is just water corrupted by the Calamity_. Made sense that not as much could survive out in the desert.

"I don't want to do an override," Zelda was muttering to herself, her eyes fixed on the Slate. "But I don't know that we have time..."

Link wasn't sure what she was talking about. Didn't the Beasts need pilots? He wasn't aware they could be forced - it seemed dangerous. So much power at the hands of someone who might not understand. He leaned up against the main control unit, his arms crossed and his head bowed. What would have happened, he wondered, if the pilots of the Divine Beasts had turned on Hyrule itself? What could have stopped them from turning the Beasts upon each other? A lot of things, he realised. Camaraderie. Friendship. A united purpose. The Champions of old were the best of their people; they must have wanted peace. But didn't everyone?

Link racked his brain, sifting through the piecemeal memories and images from before the Calamity. He searched and searched, trying to remember if the kingdom was always as fragile as it was now.

Hyrule had seemed smaller back then, he discovered. As though its people were pieces of a whole and not isolated survivors, flung to the far corners of the world. No wonder the races were now so weary of the Hylians, and of each other; until a few months prior, the Calamity had never really _ended_. Living with a crisis on the horizon would be enough to make anyone uneasy. And unease brought distrust, and distrust brought misunderstanding. Along with more wars to fight.

A warbling roar shook the central chamber, startling Link from his musings. He snapped his gaze back to the terminal at the main control unit, where Zelda was stood holding the Slate up to the pedestal.

"Why won't you-what's wrong!?" She was muttering, exasperatedly tapping away at the Slate.

Another deafening cry reverberated through the chamber, only this time the tremors did not stop. There was a cyclic, whirring noise flecked with static that seemed to be emanating from all directions. Link saw sparks of electricity flaring from the strip of green light at the base of the room.

Zelda held the Slate at the terminal. "I know, I know, I'm sorry," she whispered. "Please-"

There was a familiarity to the noise that brought with it a creeping horror. Link had heard it before - the whirring, the static. Before he and Chief Riju had first appeased Vah Naboris; when the Beast had started to _rage_. Link raced over to one of the round windows along the edge of the chamber and craned his neck to look up to the twin humps atop Naboris. An enormous, swirling ball of static was beginning to form between them. Down below, only a few hundred feet away now, the Zora warriors were all gazing up towards the Beast. One turned to flee, while the others stood frozen, mouths agape. _She's going to kill them,_ he realised. _She's going to kill_ us _!_

"Stop!" Link cried, sprinting back to the terminal. "Stop! She's fighting it!"

He snatched the Slate away from the terminal and out of Zelda's hands. Immediately the electrical whirring quietened, and Naboris gradually began to calm.

Zelda snatched her Slate back. "How else are we going to move her without an override?" she hissed. "We don't have a pilot..."

And then, gleaming with determination, her emerald eyes lifted to meet his. Link gingerly tapped a finger to his chest. _Me?_

"You freed her from Ganon. You carry the power of her last pilot." Zelda's excitement seemed to grow with every word. "It is the better choice...the only choice!"

There was no refusing her, not once she had made up her mind. Zelda registered Link with the Sheikah Slate as she had with Sidon; a simple click and a breathless wait.

Naboris roared again, her deafening cry causing the central chamber to quake.

"Wonderful! Just wonderful!" Zelda beamed up at Link. "Naboris has accepted you!"

Hesitantly, Link placed a hand on the main terminal as he had seen Sidon do in Vah Ruta. In an instant he was overcome by the sensation of an otherworldly awareness, and enormity of spirit. For half a heartbeat he could feel every ancient panel, gear, and core within the Divine Beast, and sense her every movement.

That was when he heard it. It was almost like the voice of the Sword, but more distant, more detached. A whisper only, yet it echoed within his soul like a shout.

 _You would pilot me, Champion._

"Vah Naboris!" Link called out in astonishment. He turned to Zelda, who was watching with keen interest. "She spoke to me!"

"Good. Talk to her," Zelda urged. "She needs to be reassured."

Link cleared his throat, not sure how to address the Beast. He had heard that they had something like a soul, but had no idea they could _speak_. _Did Mipha speak to Ruta? Revali to Medoh? And the others to theirs?_

"Some Zora are trying to reach you," Link tried to explain. "They want retribution, for the death of their friend. And…if they reach you, they could be killed, and then more would come for you. But there are storms you can hide in...Do - do you know where they are?"

 _I do. I am home._

"Then you know where to go! We can go there _together_ , and you'll be safe."

The Beast was silent for a time, but finally she spoke.

 _Very well, Champion._

Link turned back to Zelda, nodding happily to indicate his success.

"Ready when you are, Naboris," Link called out to the Beast.

Ponderously, Vah Naboris' inner mechanical workings whirred to life, and she rose gradually from her perch atop the eastern mountains. Her wide, curved legs alternated rhythmically as she turned towards the southwestern storms, and began to descend down Spectacle Rock. If Link closed his eyes, he could almost imagine that her movements and his were one. Vah Naboris's great voice spoke to him again.

 _I know the path, Champion. You may rest._

Link slowly withdrew his hand from the panel. Backing away from the central unit, he and Zelda walked over to the nearby outside passageway to observe Vah Naboris's progress down the slope. Zelda estimated that it would take about an hour to reach the sandstorm in the south. Not wanting their spare time to go to waste, she insisted they attempt the cleansing ritual again.

"There appears to be less corruption here," she mused, her thoughtful gaze passing over the gargantuan interior. "Perhaps it won't be as difficult."

Link was not so certain, but conceded anyway. Zelda had improved in strength since their last attempt atop Akkala Citadel. And...her magic couldn't _kill_ her. The thought was too absurd to entertain.

They proceeded as before: hands interlaced and eyes closed, with the Sword centered between them. But still, the stress of the previous week was strong in Link's mind, and proved difficult to clear. _Is this all I am? Destined to fight, and fight._

Link tried to follow his own advice, and let his thoughts come and go - though he found it more troublesome than before. He was determined not to let his fretting interfere with their work, though his dismay felt like a Lizalfos' claws - strong and sharp, clinging tightly around his throat.

Vah Naboris suddenly bellowed, her ancient voice filling Link's head.

 _This cannot proceed. I am not at rest._

Link sprung back from the Sword, releasing his grip on the hilt. The sudden full weight of the blade in Zelda's hands caused her to drop the Master Sword, the metal tip clanging against the stone.

Zelda stumbled, pulled abruptly from her meditation. "What are you doing?!"

"It won't work," Link told her. "Naboris...she needs to power down first."

"She spoke to you again?"

Link nodded wordlessly, unsure of why he was so certain. It was as if the Beast had said more than just words - like it had communicated an inherent truth, however that was possible. Zelda pondered his words, running her right hand over the main terminal. Eventually she sighed softly in resignation. "We can always come back."

There was nothing to do but wait. Link and Zelda returned to the outer passageway, a wide dome-shaped observation deck from which they could see the vast desert that stretched out before them. They sat down together, leaning against the outer wall of Naboris' body, watching the desert pass by as the Beast shifted and swayed through the sand. Despite the shade provided by the upper level of the Divine Beast, the air around them was sweltering and uncomfortable; Link quietly longed for rain, and dewed grass, and soft earth. A desert eagle slowly soared past, the brilliant sun catching its white and brown feathers, and for a moment, Link was in awe of the visceral beauty that pervaded the desert. Life was such a struggle here; yet it was bright and beguiling all the same. Beside him, Zelda's head was bowed, and she almost seemed to be asleep.

"You okay?" he asked, shifting his weight to settle more comfortably against the stone.

"I'm sorry -I was just…." She inhaled slowly. "I've spent a week trying to think of a way to help the Gerudo. I spoke to Riju every day, I learned about her people, their culture, their beliefs. But I...I..."

"None of this is simple," Link agreed, half reassuring her, and half lamenting to himself.

"I didn't expect it to be this complex." Zelda muttered. "And I should have known Naboris would be this stubborn, considering who her last pilot was."

She fidgeted, and ran a thumb over her right palm, before turning her hand over to examine the dim Royal Crest that was now permanently glowing against her skin. _When did that start?_ Link wondered.

"I hope Urbosa knows that Naboris is safe," Zelda continued, her eyes never leaving the low light of the crest. "I hope...she's proud of us."

"She is," Link reminded her. "You know she is."

"I do. I know what she said to you. _No one need carry blame._ Well, I hope she's still right." Sighing, Zelda lifted her head. Her hair shifted across her face, and she gave him a small smile. "What about you, Link? Are you okay?"

Her eyes met his, and for a moment Link was taken back by how vibrant she looked - how _real_ she was. His answer struck him like the ringing of a bell; sudden and clear. _Happy, if I'm with you._

Link shrugged, fighting the urge to brush the hair from her face. "I'm okay if you're okay." he smiled back.

Zelda laughed softly, her face brightening, with little crows' feet cinching at the corners of her eyes. "Well, I'm okay," she informed him.

'Then...so am I,' Link said, and under Zelda's gaze he was almost sure he meant it.

* * *

As Zelda had predicted, it took almost an hour for Vah Naboris to cross the desert, her great lumbering legs carrying them deliberately across the sands. The Beast stopped at the periphery of a raging sandstorm in the East Barrens, and spoke once more.

 _I enter the storm. Go now_.

To Link and Zelda's mutual relief, the Zora were nowhere in sight. If they had sense, they would have returned to Kara Kara Bazaar the moment Vah Naboris rose from the cliffs. Link convinced Zelda to teleport alone back to Gerudo Town: it was safer, he told her, and they were in no hurry. He could move quickly in his golden sandals, and would be able to harness a wild sand seal to take him back to town. While all of that was partly true, he mostly just wanted some time alone. The blazing sun above and blistering desert winds in his face would help clear his mind - at least he hoped. Though try as he might, he could not shake a lingering sense of unrest. Faces flashed past: Rilla's empty features, Larella's haunted eyes, and Zelda's smile, painted soft on skin that seemed like porcelain. And then, the angry faces of the Zora warriors, and Riju's defiant glare as she met them at the gates of Gerudo Town. Link had found no peace by the time he ground to a halt at the gates of Gerudo Town with his sand seal. _At least Naboris is safe,_ he thought sullenly. _Finally that business is done._

The shouts he heard as he approached Riju's throne room, however, told him that their work was not finished. He slipped into the chamber unnoticed, immediately struck by the festering tension that pervaded the room. One wrong move and the whole place would go up, it seemed. _Just as it had at the gates._

"Eight Gerudo warriors! Eight!" Larella was almost screaming. "And you have _no_ idea who did this!"

"There have been no signs of any rebellion - that I _promise_ you," Riju shot back. She was gripping the arms of her throne so tightly her knuckles were white. As with her previous meetings with the Zoran diplomat, she was flanked by her bodyguard Teake, and her three advisors clad in white. Zelda stood in the shadows, her face distraught.

"This isn't a rebellion anymore!" Larella shouted. Her face was streaked with tears, and there was a small piece of parchment clutched so tightly in her hand that it was crumpled. "This is an act of war!"

"The letter says as much!" Teake growled.

Link moved quietly to Zelda's side. "What happened?" he whispered. Zelda could not speak, only shaking her head despondently.

Riju's voice was measured against the air of tension in the room, but Link could hear her begin to falter. "We will find those responsible, Ambassador. The attackers couldn't have...they will _not_ escape our justice,"

Almost-hysterical scorn crossed Larella's features. "And how and where will you find them? You said yourself that you have no idea!"

"Hyrule Castle," Zelda suddenly piped up. "That is where you will find your culprits."

"Hyrule Castle is a ruin, isn't it?" Riju said. She glanced nervously at her advisors, and they nodded their heads in unison. "Do you really believe bandits would bother taking it?"

"Bandits?" Larella scoffed. "You think bandits did this!?"

Link could take no more. "What _happened_!?" he demanded, shocked by the volume of his voice, and the ire that simmered underneath it. The rest of the room's occupants seemed to startle, their gazes fixed on him as an uncomfortable silence settled. Riju opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated, passing an apprehensive glance at Larella. It was Zelda who finally spoke.

"We received a letter - _Larella_ did. This morning." She was wringing her hands. "There was another attack on Zora's Domain. This time it was the city that was targeted. Vah Ruta and Sidon are safe, but.…"

"King Dorephan is dead." Larella's brow was furrowed with a mixture of fury and despair. "They have named Sidon heir to the throne, and the Zoran court has declared the attack an act of war."

"And now they've returned the volley," Riju concluded. She bowed her head, as if daunted by her own words. "And have declared war with _us_."

Perhaps it was the lack of sleep, or his general weariness and loathing of all the turmoil in this desert, but for a moment Link almost burst into mad laughter. Surrounded by downcast faces, an unimaginable tragedy at his feet, with the place he once considered home beset by enemies and its King murdered in the conflict - somehow, in this new Hyrule, the only thing left to do was laugh at the cruelty of it, and the gall of the Goddess to allow such a thing to happen.

 _There really is no end in sight._

Link fought back both a smile and a scowl, and let his face drop, and his features harden - a coping mechanism, from long ago. The women in the room were looking at him expectantly, but he had nothing left to give them but a heavy sigh, and the stoicism born of being a knight.

* * *

Riju's advisors urged the Chief to end the audience and allow Larella leave to mourn her King. The Ambassador had been motionless since her last outburst in the throne room, the letter clutched between her webbed fingers and her tears rolling down her face. Riju was nodding, and had opened her mouth to speak when a low, rumbling voice was heard outside the throne room. Faces turned to assess the newcomer - a tall, stocky Gerudo stood at the doorway, the sunlight casting her sharp features in shadow.

"Lady Riju," she called out, striding purposefully across the tiles. As she entered the room, Link realised with muted alarm that she was dragging another Gerudo woman into the room by a piece of dark fabric secured firmly around her neck.

"Buliara?" Riju called back, bittersweet hope in her voice. As the women approached, no longer silhouetted by the sun peaking in through the doorway, Link saw that it was indeed Buliara advancing into the throne room. Her plain Gerudo garb was travel-worn, and she carried with her only a simple scimitar and shield - a far cry from the usual ceremonial armour and sword that she wore as Riju's bodyguard. Her hostage's Gerudo guard uniform was likewise frayed, except for the signature, and now-ominous, embroidered blue neckerchief tied tightly around her neck. Link heard Zelda gasp beside him.

Larella stumbled out of the way as Buliara threw her hostage down against the tiles, the Gerudo woman landing hard at Riju's feet. Her mouth was gagged, and her arms were bound behind her back with rope. Judging by the dried blood spotted along her bindings, she had not been brought here willingly.

"Her name is Ayu," Buliara reported, not wasting any time with pleasantries. "I tracked her all the way to Zora's Domain. I witnessed an attack on their people, and I caught this one after the party of assassins fled. I trust you know that the King-"

"We know," Riju said solemnly.

"She has confessed her crime, and disclosed the name of the man who set her up to do this. Cinelgen, he calls himself. A male Gerudo that passed our notice."

"Impossible," Teake snapped, thumping her claymore against the tiles. "That cannot be-"

Buliara silenced the woman with a withering glare.

"He must be the same one that we met, then." Zelda said. She pulled out her Sheikah Slate, tapping gently at the screen with her index finger. A blue neckerchief just like the one Ayu wore materialised in her hands and she held it out for all to see. "We found this on a bandit. A Yiga, though she claimed that the Yiga were all gone. The Gerudo male wore the same kind."

"As did all the attackers," Buliara confirmed.

Link repeated the strange name in his head. _Cinelgen. Cinelgen._ Hadn't that spear-wielder Milagre spoken of someone named Cinna? Could he be the same person?

"I don't understand," Larella had collected herself, though her pale blue face was still glossy from her tears. "There's some...new Gerudo clan?"

Zelda shook her head. "No. This group seems like more than an offshoot. There are Hylians among them, and Rito too."

Riju was eyeing the hostage before her with animosity and apprehension. "Do you have anything to say?"

Buliara ripped the gag from the woman's mouth. Ayu spat and coughed, but eventually raised her head to glower at the young Chief.

"I may have confessed, but I'll never sell Cinna out," she hissed. "I won't tell you anything about him, or the Successors."

Zelda moved quietly to Larella's side. "Ambassador, _she_ is proof." She gestured towards Ayu. "Have her confess to your people what she has said to Buliara. Maybe then they will understand."

"Ayu will not travel alone with the Zora. They will kill her long before they reach Zora's Domain, and eliminate any evidence of the source of conflict between our people." Buliara fixed her stiff gaze on Larella. "As for your _envoy,_ you are aware that all of Kara Kara saw them, scaling the cliffs towards Vah Naboris."

Larella's eyes went wide, and her face lost its remaining color. "I tried to stop them...I tried.…"

Riju's voice cut across Larella's tremulous mumbling, condemning and irate. "Your warriors sought to harm Vah Naboris?"

"No-" Larella began. "I tried to stop them! They would have all been killed!"

"And thankfully they weren't," Zelda countered forcefully. "Naboris has been moved southwest, to the cover provided by the sandstorms."

Riju nodded slowly towards her, before returning her attention back to the prisoner.

"Zelda's plan for Ayu is sound. Buliara, take the prisoner to the Domain, as well as any guards you need." Her hard emerald eyes settled on the Ambassador, judging and stern. "And Lady Larella. It is true, some of my people have turned against yours. But in seeking to attack Vah Naboris, your warriors are also in the wrong."

"Chief Riju," Larella stammered. "It was never my intention-"

Riju's tolerance was at an end. "I ask that you leave, Ambassador. May the desert be kind to you." She drew herself fully upright, and looked down her pointed nose at the distressed Zora woman. "And for your sake, may we not meet again for a _very_ long time."

* * *

Eleven days past, a Zoran envoy of ten had marched into Gerudo Desert; now only nine were departing. According to desert customs, Rilla had been cremated at the East Gerudo Ruins. The remaining Zora were too fatigued from the lack of food and water to carry her home. The ceremony took place at evenfall, under the stars and the statues of the Seven Heroines; seven enormous Gerudo warriors rendered in pale sandstone, with downturned swords and eerie, expressionless eyes. Legend held that these divine warriors had once protected the desert from harm. _But they are all gone now_ , Zelda thought morosely as she reflected on the ceremony. _And nowhere is safe._ And so under the open sky, the Zoran envoy had watched as the flames engulfed their youngest warrior, and wept both for her, and their murdered King.

It was Buliara who had counseled Riju to allow the beleaguered Zora to honour their dead. The fallen were the innocents of war, she had said, and deserved respect.

Riju's bodyguard had also obeyed her decree to escort Ayu to Zora's Domain, selecting a single guard to assist her - Leena, a young woman taller than even Buliara herself, with earthen skin and fiery hair. She was quiet, but keen, and could be seen practicing her spear drills at both dawn and dusk. The trio of Gerudo took only two horses, the prisoner still bound and sharing a saddle with Buliara. In appearance, Riju's bodyguard was just as imposing and powerful as any Gerudo, with stern brows and sharp features accented by a knife's-edge nose. But Zelda sensed a compassion and level-headedness to Buliara that would have proved useful in mediating the talks with the envoy - traits that she hoped would eventually be passed on to Lady Riju. _The girl has lost her mother_ , Zelda reflected. _Just as I had_. But the Goddess was kind to leave Riju with good counsel, and subjects who loved and respected her.

The Zora were given until the following noon after the ceremony to leave the desert, and Zelda had decided that it would be appropriate that she and Link escort them home. Determined not to return to the Domain empty-handed, Ambassador Larella decided that Buliara could travel with her envoy as well. The Gerudo and the Zora would arrive at the Domain together, allowing Buliara to recount her case without being harmed. Ayu would confess her crimes to the Zora, and speak of the man called Cinelgen. Zelda would present the blue neckerchiefs and her own experiences as evidence that the bandits were indeed an outside force and, with Larella's help, would attempt to convince the Zora that the Gerudo people were not responsible for the death of King Dorephan, and that a new threat was assembling in Hyrule Castle.

That was the plan, at least. It was a long plan, and not a very solid one, brimming with chances for failure. _But I'm no stranger to that now_ , Zelda told herself, trying her best to bolster her confidence. At least, with Larella and Buliara at her side, she would not be alone this time as she bowed yet again before the Zora King. And not just any King either; it would be Sidon on that throne now. Curiously, the thought did little to ease Zelda's apprehension; it was simpler to argue with an enemy than a friend. Zelda cast her eyes over to Link, who was riding beside her. His face was blank, his gaze and likely his thoughts somewhere far away. _Much easier_ , she thought gloomily.

They were now a few days out from the desert. They had passed through the Gerudo Canyon, and across a newly constructed bridge of rust-colored Gerudo sandstone - to be called the Geldarm Bridge - before heading east towards Lanayru. As they passed over the Geldarm, Buliara proudly explained that following Calamity Ganon's defeat, Riju had ordered that Digdogg Suspension Bridge be upgraded into a wide stone pass. A sturdier bridge would improve trade and ease passage into the canyon.

"Though we may come to regret it," she finished under her breath, eyes glancing sidelong at their Zora companions.

Despite the fact that the Zora outnumbered the Gerudo three-to-one, the envoy never hesitated to voice their concern at travelling with those who were their enemy. Neither party wanted to walk ahead of the other, and they refused to acknowledge each other when they made camp. Link and Zelda had to ride between them as a buffer, with the desert trio at the front, and the envoy of Zora behind. And naturally Buliara was weary of the nine pairs of angry eyes that followed her every step. _Well_ , eight pairs; Ambassador Larella had passed the journey so far with her eyes fixed to the ground. She was distraught, Zelda could see, perhaps taking accountability to heart. It was a look that Zelda knew well; Larella must have considered every misfortune that had befallen her people to be her fault. The unspoken familiarity between them had made Zelda resolve to talk to Larella the next time they made camp, as Zelda knew that the events in the desert had been beyond Larella's control. Still, she was surprised by her own budding sympathy, let alone solidarity, for the Ambassador. _I once hated you_ , she thought, remembering the haughty attendant that Larella had been at their first meeting. _But that was when I didn't understand._

Under the strain of distrust, the time dragged by. A full week elapsed before the party passed beneath the shadow of the Great Plateau.

"Can you see them, Link? Up there - two Guardians." Zelda pointed out, looking up towards a pair of decayed Guardian stalkers that were teetering on the edge of the walled cliffs, their long segmented legs wrapped around the precipice. Link followed her line of sight, and gave her a cursory nod.

"I wonder if they were there originally, or if they somehow scaled the Plateau during the Calamity…," Zelda pondered aloud. She had been doing her best to ease the tense silence in which they rode, but it seemed that none of her travelling companions were in the mood to talk or otherwise lighten the overwrought atmosphere.

Link, for the most part, had held a steady silence. He barely spoke, but his eyes told his moods true enough. Zelda had seen those eyes almost every day for the past three months, and now felt she could read what lay underneath. When he was not locked in his musings, there was a hypervigilance - a desperation - that simmered under the surface. When they made camp, he stood guard well after the sun had set, only leaving his post to eat, and later sleep. Zelda was half-convinced that he slept with that sword drawn, and within grasping distance. And although she had asked him if he wanted to talk - if the news from the Domain had troubled him - he had just shrugged, reluctant to voice his thoughts. _He's always doing that._ She had bit down her frustration then, knowing that it would not help, and resolved to trust him to speak when he was ready.

Her fellow Hylian was _jumpy_ aswell; the previous night she had only touched his shoulder to ask if he wanted some food, and by the time he realised it was her, he'd half drawn his sword.

"It's only me, Hero," Zelda chuckled.

Link just frowned at her. "Don't call me that," he grumbled, resheathing his sword and returning wordlessly to his post. Zelda had wanted to reach out to him them. Bundle him up and apologise for everything that she had done and everything that she had failed to do. But his eyes were already fixed back on the horizon, and the moment had passed.

Weary Gerudo ahead of her, mourning Zora behind, and a sulking knight at her side. Zelda racked her brain for a more miserable journey, but found that she didn't need to think for long.

It had been tradition that members of the Royal Family were interred in Kakariko Village's cemetery, and that the surviving members make the pilgrimage with the deceased. Zelda's mother had looked like a divine being when she had died. Still and perfect, as if her features were painted on her porcelain skin. The priestesses of Hylia had dressed her body in a flowing white dress and golden jewelry adorned with the royal crest. They had dressed the babe too, though Zelda could not bring herself to look upon his little face. She wasn't afraid of the tiny creature - and tiny it was, smaller than any baby she had ever seen. It was the rage, and the pain of the loss, that made her abhor it. _You killed her,_ she remembered thinking when she saw it, all swaddled in white cotton and laid at her mother's side. _You did this_.

Zelda and her father had accompanied the funeral procession on that arduous trip to Kakariko. While the village was not far, and the roads were well maintained, it had been the midst of winter. One of the worst blizzards in living memory had descended upon them, hindering their progress for the entire journey. Zelda shivered and shook the whole way, the cold eating deep into her skin and grasping at her bones. But not once had she cried. To cry was to accept her grief. To cry was to kill her mother again.

She had only been six years old then, but looking back, it seemed that the journey to Kakariko was when she had been at her strongest. _I must be strong now_ , Zelda compelled herself. She could admit to herself that she had truly begun to feel more alive, more solid; perhaps it was the constant work, or maybe the constant exhaustion, that had driven her lingering sadness away. But what she didn't like to admit was that the weight around her heart was not entirely gone. Some nights she would still wake with tears on her cheeks. Some days she could barely bring herself to speak. And somehow Zelda knew that until she found some peace, whether it be in reclaiming her castle or by some other path, the weight would never truly leave her. _But_ _I must press on_ , Zelda decided. _If only because I have no other choice._

As the mixed party skirted the cliffs of the Great Plateau, Zelda sensed the first chills of the late afternoon. There was less than a moon's turn left in autumn. The sky had begun to darken earlier in the day, and in the mornings the grass on which they made their camps was coated with a cool dew. Today's sun set just as the group arrived at the Gate Post Town ruins, and they set up their camp among the rubble and eroded stone. A light rain had been falling since midday, and the ground was soft and damp.

Zelda and her father had stopped here on their way to Kakariko, she remembered. There had been a woman who ran the small inn where they had spent the night, and she had given the young princess a buttered pastry to take with her once the royal company departed. If Zelda closed her eyes, she could still remember the rich and savoury taste of the butter on bread. But there was nothing left of the inn now.

The Gerudo arranged their small camp on one side of the ruins, and the Zora on the other. Link organized their camp between the two, and when he was done he stalked to the edge of the ruins to stand vigil, sword kept at his back and thoughts kept to himself. _I must speak to him as well_ , Zelda decided.

She had hardly settled down against one of the damp cobblestone walls with her Slate, when a commotion broke out. Frantic shouts emanated from the direction of the Zora camp and soon one of the Zora warriors stormed past her towards the Gerudo, Ambassador Larella following closely behind. He carried a long silverite spear, and his face was twinged with a boiling, righteous rage.

"Rhett! Rhett!" Larella was pleading desperately, her cries drawing the attention of the entire camp. "Don't do this!"

The Ambassador threw herself at the taller warrior, wrapping her arms around his torso in a vain attempt to stop him. Rhett threw her off with a violent jerk of his left arm, not sparing her a second glance as Larella fell hard against the rain-slicked earth.

Zelda leapt to her feet and raced through the ruins to the Ambassador, helpless to stop the furious warrior from marching directly into the Gerudo camp.

"Murderers!" he shouted, aggressively brandishing his spear. "King slayers!"

Just as Zelda knelt at the Ambassador's side, she heard the harrowing sound of steel against steel, and the wet squelch of boots against the mud.

Another standoff; another spear angled at spear. Buliara stood in front of her prisoner Ayu, her own golden weapon brought to bear as she stared down the Zora before her. Her stern olive eyes set the challenge: _let us dance, warrior._ They stood as if suspended in amber, neither moving and barely breathing as they waited for their opponent to strike. And soon Link was before them, his sword drawn and his feet toeing the invisible boundary between Rhett and Buliara. His eyes flitted nervously back and forth, as if trying to determine who he was to protect.

"You will not harm her," Buliara declared. "She is _my_ hostage, not yours."

"Blood calls for blood," Rhett bit back savagely. Zelda could hear his heavy breathing from where she knelt by Larella; every line of his body spoke of a rage ready to erupt.

Buliara's eyes narrowed, and she shook her head resolutely. " _Not_ where I am from."

Zelda watched with bated breath; the party's distrust was already stretched thin like fraying rope. A single misstep, and it would snap. The trio did not move; Zelda redirected her focus to the fallen Ambassador.

"Let me help you stand," she whispered, gripping the woman's shoulders in her hands. Larella was bracing her left elbow with her right hand, and Zelda saw the small pool of blood that had collected in her palm.

The steel rang again; high and strident. Rhett moved first, lunging towards the taller Buliara, but it was Link who caught the spear. Deft and sudden, he swung his blade to deflect the silver shaft, driving the spearhead hard into the dirt. Buliara jolted backwards, her spear raised defensively, while Rhett wheeled around, tearing his own weapon from the ground with both hands and shifting to face Link.

"No!" the Ambassador shrieked as she bolted from Zelda's grip, racing over to the trio of fighters. Larella seized Rhett's spear, wrenching it backwards with all of her strength. The warrior fought her off with another shove, but this time Larella did not fall. Defiantly, she strode into the centre of the standoff.

"Rhett, please!" Larella begged as she threw her arms wide. "No more people need to die!"

"How _dare_ you...!" he spat at her. " _You_...you knew! The whole party knew but _us_! Your own people!"

"I'm - I'm sorry!" Larella's voice had cracked and was fading into a whisper. Zelda could see the terror in her eyes. "I was _afraid_."

"But not afraid to defend these killers!?" Rhett challenged, fins flicking curtly towards Buliara and Ayu.

"They are the only chance for peace. Hyrule is vulnerable, Rhett. Can't you see?" For a moment, the Ambassador looked past him towards Zelda, and their eyes met.

Zelda felt a surge of kinship - of understanding - between herself and the wearied Zora woman. _I do,_ she wanted to say as she nodded to the Ambassador. _I see what you see._

Rhett paid no heed. "I don't care," he said as he moved to shoulder past her. Larella stood firm.

"No! You cannot kill them unless you kill _me,_ " she cried, stepping in front of Rhett again. The spearpoint of his weapon was mere inches from her face, but Larella showed no fear. "Is that what you'll do? Bring our King yet another death!?"

For one terrible moment Rhett did not move, and Zelda braced for his answer. But he then withdrew his spear, seething. "Our king is dead."

And then the warrior pivoted, and marched back to the Zora camp. Weakened by her relief and exhaustion, the Ambassador dropped to her knees.

Zelda hurried to Larella's side. "You've hurt yourself," she murmured softly. "You must have scraped yourself on the rocks when you fell."

Buliara had lowered her spear, and was sighing and shaking her head. "When that voe threw her aside like rotten meat, you mean."

The Ambassador did not speak, and only whimpered quietly as Zelda began to usher her away. Link was still tense, sword at the ready as if expecting another standoff. Zelda motioned for him to follow. _We'll need your power_.

They led Larella to the nearby bank of Lake Kolomo, away from the others. There was still a small amount of daylight to illuminate their path, though it was rapidly disappearing, giving way to a heavy dusk sky of deep purples and rolling grey clouds. Zelda settled down at Larella's right side, while Link hovered at her left. His face twisting as he focused, the knight held his hands to the Ambassador's injured elbow.

"Might tingle," he warned. Larella nodded with a small sniffle, and then set her eyes across the dark waters of the wind-ruffled lake.

"I'm sorry...for that," she said faintly, before wincing slightly. She glanced down at the light in Link's hands. "That does feel strange."

"I can't imagine the grief your people must be feeling," Zelda said. Her gaze drifted over to Link as well, and she studied his face, trying to fathom what he might be thinking about. Link noticed her staring, and for a moment their eyes met. He furrowed his brows, and returned to his work.

"Dorephan was a good king," the Ambassador began. "And he was kind to me. He saw what little talent I must have. I so wanted to prove that I wasn't sent because he...because..."

The Ambassador could not finish her own sentence, but Zelda guessed it well enough. _Because he favoured you._

"That couldn't have been why," Zelda reassured.

The healing must have finished, for Link moved to rise. Zelda gave him a stern look, and surreptitiously eyed the ground. Caught, Link sank back down.

"I wanted so desperately to prove myself. To prove I wasn't incompetent," Larella continued. She gingerly moved her arm, and tested her healed elbow. "That I could be trusted."

"Then why hide the news?" Link asked.

"I knew it would anger them, that impetuous Rhett especially." Larella explained dejectedly. "But I thought - if Sidon was the one to tell them, they couldn't hurt the Gerudo there and then, in front of their king. But out here? Those Gerudo are more vulnerable than we were in their desert."

"Rhett found the letter?" Zelda surmised.

The Ambassador brought her slender hands to her face, bracing her temples. "I kept it like a fool." Disparaging dismay crept into her tone. "I needed something to remind myself that it was _real_."

Zelda clapped her hands down onto her lap, trying her best not to sound overly positive. "Well, we aren't far from the Domain now. Sidon will understand what happened."

"Sidon _barely_ knows who I am. And I'm not anything more than a commoner without my title. We don't even know if he will believe us." Larella wrapped her arms around herself. "I just wanted to help. I never wanted to believe the Gerudo did this."

Zelda took one of Larella's hands into her own. "You know," she said softly. "I think I know what King Dorephan saw in you, Larella."

The Ambassador's glassy eyes rose to meet hers. "You - really?"

"You _alone_ secured an audience with Lady Riju, and you deduced that Buliara must arrive with us at the Domain." She gave Larella's hand an encouraging squeeze, and then let it fall. "And you see beyond your own people. You see Hyrule for what it is. I could use an ally like you, Lady Ambassador."

Larella was speechless. " _Ambassador-_ -," she repeated. She looked to Link, eyes seeking.

Link gave her a deliberate, encouraging nod. "I agree." he said simply.

Larella looked back and forth between the two Hylians, her mouth agape "You...you...how unkind I was to you when you first came to the Domain. And yet you sit here, and heal me, and praise me despite my failure."

She stood abruptly and turned to face them, fingertips swiping the remaining tears from her cheeks. "How much you have done for us, and continue to do...and without a single thanks."

The Ambassador laughed then; a thin, incredulous wheeze that seemed to escape her lips. She crossed her arms at her chest. "Tell me, when this is done, will you take back your castle?"

Zelda nodded and then rose from the bank, with Link mirroring her actions. "We will find the man who caused all this."

 _Cinelgen_. The strange name raced through Zelda's mind.

Larella smiled, and then she curtseyed, the picture of a poised Zoran lady. "I will not pretend there is a place for me at the Domain now," she told them. "If you will have me, then I can be there. When you retake that castle - I will be by your side, and I will help you rebuild your home."

Link and Zelda rested by the bank for a time after the Ambassador departed. A full darkness had fallen, and the gentle winds did little to mute the chirping of restless crickets hidden in the grasses.

"Home," Zelda eventually muttered. "I wish we could go home."

She heard Link sigh. "We don't have a home," he said, and stood to leave the bank.

* * *

Ambassador Larella would not be cowed by Rhett, or by the other members of the Zoran envoy. The warriors and diplomats alike had demanded that the Gerudo trio travel to Zora's Domain alone, calling it reckless and unseemly for the envoy to travel with the people who killed their king. In response, Larella pointedly reminded them that not only was it _pathetic_ that four seasoned Zora warriors were afraid of a single Gerudo prisoner, but that the envoy had both the Hero and the Princess of Hyrule to protect them.

"But...but...the Gerudo could take advantage and kill us in our sleep!" Farlo, one of the ambassadors, had claimed, garnering mutters of agreement and a few calls of 'hear!' from the rest of the envoy.

"If they planned to do that, they'd have done so when we were in their desert," Larella argued dismissively. "Not so close to the Domain."

Her fellows grumbled among themselves, but logic was on her side, and the Ambassador would not back down. "Do what you will," she told them. "Outpace us, and risk being ambushed on your way to the Domain. Stay behind and I will go before King Sidon and name you as deserters."

Caught between two equally dangerous choices, and trapped by Ambassador Larella's determined glare, the envoy eventually - and reluctantly - conceded. Their original plan would remain unchanged, although no one in the party would sleep soundly. At least, Zelda thought - _at least_ \- they were only a few more days away from the Domain.

Of all the uneasy sleepers, Link seemed to be the most fatigued. The standoff at the Gatepost Town Ruins had only caused him to double down his diligence for protecting the party; every second night he stood vigil by a low fire, unwilling or perhaps unable to sleep. These days, his face remained stoic, and his eyes were as still and hard as a frozen lake. Zelda thought - no, she had _hoped_ \- that their travels together had broken that facade he had made for himself. The one he had worn in the days before the Calamity. _With so much at stake, and so many eyes upon him..._ She had hoped things were different now. That he trusted her. That he.…

But at least she was not without a friend. Zelda and Larella now walked side by side along the paths of Central Hyrule, discussing politics and plans, and sharing stories of their homes. Larella educated her on just how complex the Zora court really was. There were multiple levels of nobility, she explained, and all completely mutually exclusive except in the case of an intermarriage that produced a child. Larella also told Zelda that Sidon would not actually be King in anything other than name until the Zora council held a referendum on his eligibility.

"No other race would have time for such nonsense," Larella explained, shaking her head dismissively as she spoke. "But we Zora live a long time. And with that comes all sorts of inefficiencies."

In return, Zelda told Larella of the Calamity. The young Ambassador had been born a decade or so after the fact, and was keen to hear of it from one who was actually there. Reciting the tale was now as easy as unspooling thread; the words came unbidden and without emotion until there was nothing left to say. Zelda recounted all of it: her father's scornful words; her untapped power; the day of the Calamity; watching as her appointed knight threw down his life; the long trek to the Korok Forest, and then to Hyrule Castle.…

Larella listened quietly the entire time, and when Zelda was done, she placed a slender hand on her shoulder. "You were so brave, both you and Link," she said. "And so few people understand."

Zelda had waved off her kind words. The alternative was being well-remembered in a Kingdom destroyed by war...being forgotten wasn't that much of a price to pay for being alive.

The party stopped and settled at the western edge of the Lanayru Wetlands that evening, at a fork in the road marked by a tall aspen tree. _This is where we encountered the Yiga woman_ , Zelda recalled when she saw the tree, and the nearby rocky outcrop upon which that woman had stood. The aspen had lost nearly all of its leaves now, and those that remained were tending to ashen colours and crumbling decay.

Zelda met Link under the branches of the aspen a little while after the sun had set. The sky above them was dark and starless, and so Zelda had to find her way from the camp by the light of her right hand alone. It had recently begun to give off a diffuse glow of golden light, in the shape of the triangular Royal Crest, and she could not figure out a way to make it dim. If there was a way...

Link gave her a cursory nod and a half-hearted grin as she approached, and then returned his gaze to the horizon. It was raining again, but the drooping leaves that clung to the aspen tree kept the rain from his face. He held his sword and its scabbard in hand, and a small lamp of burning oil hung at his left hip, throwing harsh shadows over his normally gentle face. His hand crossbow hung at the other hip, already loaded.

"Everyone has gone to bed, Link," Zelda chided softly. "You can rest."

He dismissed her concern with a short shake of his head. "I'll be fine."

"You need to sleep. I know you are tired."

"...I'll be fine." he repeated, the slightest hint of annoyance in his voice. Zelda opened her mouth to admonish him. _You won't be fine, you idiot. I can see the bags under your eyes - the fatigue in your posture._ But the words never came. Link yawned, and rubbed his eyes harshly, and all of Zelda's annoyance at him was drowned in a sudden swell of compassion.

If he would not sleep, then she would at least make sure he was not lonely. The guilt that had gripped her since Link had awoken from his slumber had recently given way to a hunger; a longing to see him happy, as if there was no other way to atone for how he was affected by her failures. A silence fell between them then, punctuated only by the sound of the raindrops on the leaves.

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about those Guardians we saw at the Great Plateau," Zelda confided. "I've only just realised that there were active Guardians atop the Plateau that day. Imagine how close we were to losing you. It might have all been for naught."

"Might still be," Link mumbled under his breath. He must have sensed her hurt, because he immediately turned and tried to take back his words. "Sorry. I didn't mean-"

Zelda had finally had enough.

"Tell me the truth." She demanded. "All this, with the Zora and the bandits - how are you really feeling?"

Link opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. His chest heaved through a long sigh, and he remained silent.

"You can talk to me." Zelda urged. Didn't he remember? All those times they had refused to speak to each other, and the pain it had caused them both. _Why aren't we past this?_

His words seemed heavy, every syllable a struggle. "Just...not now."

"Well when?! When things are better?" Zelda tried to temper her rising anger, but failed. "That might not be for a while - might not be ever!"

"You think I don't know that?!" he snapped.

"Link - please" she begged. Her voice broke as her own exhaustion washed over her. "Don't you remember what you said to me in Naboris? _I'm okay if you're okay_. Well, that goes both ways."

Link drew back. "You remember that?"

"Of course I do."

He conceded with a sigh, and pushed off the tree's trunk. Refastening his scabbard to his back, Link peered at the camp behind them. All was silent, and there was no light from either side save the last fizzling embers of their camp fires.

"Not here," Link said, and began to walk down towards the Hylia River.

They stopped within a small copse of trees, the rushing river ahead of them. These ones too were almost bare for the winter, and the rain fell freely between their branches. Zelda used her sleeve to wipe her face of stray droplets, shivering slightly. She untied and re-tied the obi of her Sheikah robe as Link hooked his lamp onto a tree branch, his sudden air of calm unnerving her. When he was done he leaned up against one of the trees, head bowed as he collected his thoughts.

"I just...don't know what I'm doing," he confessed, peering out towards the river.

Zelda stood before him with her hands clasped nervously at her chest. "What do you mean?"

"I dunno what I _do_ anymore," he reiterated.

"I...I really don't understand. Do you mean, about the Zora and the Gerudo?"

"I guess." He shrugged. "And I thought Sidon was our ally."

"Sidon didn't declare war on the Gerudo," Zelda asserted, recalling Larella's advice on the Zora Court. "He's not King yet."

"But he couldn't stop it?" Link implored. "Doesn't it worry you? Nothing's getting better."

"Yes...but..." Zelda's mind stumbled as she tried to piece together the right words; ones to bolster as well as reassure him. "This is what we have to do...we have to help them."

Link folded his arms at his chest, closing up. His words were terse, taut. Guilty even. "Do we?"

Zelda was almost stunned into silence. She glared at him, lost. "They're our people, Link."

"Your people," Link shot back. "It's _your_ kingdom. I'm just.…"

" _You_ are a Knight of Hyrule." Her frustration was rising again. "They are your people whether you like it or not."

"' _Whether I like it or not,'_ " he echoed petulantly, crossing his arms tighter. A gust of wind blew through the copse, and his lantern swayed erratically. The low light danced across the trees, but did not shine much farther. It was as if they were alone - the entirety of Hyrule just a memory on the horizon.

Loneliness. Isolation. Desperation. Zelda wanted him back, she realised stubbornly. Whole, and alive, and _hers_ , as the knight he was born to be. "Link, I know you must be tired-," she tried to say.

"I _am_!" he spat, his voice feverish. "We - we _saved_ this kingdom from the Calamity, and now it's just falling apart."

"It's not _falling apart_!"

"So it was always like this?"

He had a point. "Well, we can still save it."

" _How,_ Zelda?" he was almost shouting now, the fever giving way to panic. "Fighting the Calamity was easier - I knew what to do then."

Zelda wrapped her hands around his. Link's skin was icy cold, and his fists were clenched. "You still do," she said firmly, looking deep into his eyes; two clear-cut sapphires framed by the droplets on his lashes. "You are a _knight,_ remember? You help people. You _fight_ for them. It's what you're best at."

Link exhaled, crumpling against the tree, the anger and frustration wheezing out of him.

"How can I fight when it's people on both sides?" he said brokenly, in a voice so desperate and soft that he sounded like a child. "When it's all of Hyrule at war?"

She gave his hands a gentle squeeze, running her thumbs across his calloused skin. "That isn't going to happen. I won't let it."

"I wish I could be as sure, Zel," he muttered, a weak smile lifting his crestfallen face. _Zel?_ The nickname gave her a small start, twisting her confusion and concern for him into something sweeter. Something like empathy. Something like determination.

Zelda wrapped her hands around his shoulders, bracketing him, bolstered by the fondness in his voice. "Listen to me. Do you remember what you taught me? Otra's words. _Clouds_ , Link. These thoughts are just clouds."

"...Clouds." he breathed.

"We aren't going to fail," she continued. "I am certain of it. We just need to keep pressing on."

Again Link opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. He bit his lip. "I dunno, I just-"

"Let's put those worries to rest for now," Zelda said, stealing a glance in the direction of the camp. "We should head back."

"Wait, no. Please," he beseeched, a hand gripping her forearm. It sent a shudder through her that ran all the way to her neck.

"Okay, okay, I'm here," Zelda relented. "I'm always going to be here. We'll solve this together." Her hands were still at his shoulders. _He's taller than me now_ , she realised, having never stood so close. _When did that happen?_

Link sighed. "How do you know that?"

Zelda pondered the question. Awkwardly, she withdrew her hands from his shoulders and clasped them across her chest. She began to file through the past three or so months as though she were reading through a familiar old book, pulling the moments out page by page. How could she know? What made her so sure - beyond the quiet, hopeful need to be at his side - that they could be anything like partners?

And then she remembered.

"Do you recall that Rito song you told me about?" Zelda asked him. "It helped us with the Malice, didn't it? So maybe it meant that we have to persevere - that we can get through this if we have each other. The Hero and the Princess, remember?"

He stared at her, eyes a little frantic, as if seeking something in her expression. Had she said something wrong? She had remembered the song correctly, hadn't she?

And then Link's face softened, an incredulous smile curling on his lips. "I remember."

"Good. See?" Zelda beamed up at him. "We'll be fine."

She was nearly overwhelmed by relief and without thinking she reached up to brush the rain-dampened hair from his eyes. Her hand lingered, fingers entwined in a dark-blonde lock. The forest around them was gone then. There were no ruins, and no war. No slumber or sanctum to force a divide.

It happened so fast. As though he was stepping through a strike; deft and sudden. Zelda moved to pull her hand away, but Link caught her, seizing forward to give her a quick, chancing kiss.

The shock flashed past like a crack of lightning; bright and blinding, but gone in an instant. And then she was kissing him back, her fingers gripping his shoulders. And then again, and again, unable to stop the frenzy, not caring how clumsy and uncouth the whole thing felt. All that mattered was that he'd come back to her.

The thoughts arose unbidden. _You are here._ We _are here, once again_.

Link had an arm around her waist, clinging to her as she clung to him, both needing _this_ to be the answer to their problems. But the rain was falling between her eyes, and Zelda remembered where she was. And then why they were in this horrible, dark place to begin with. She snapped away from him, stumbling backwards over the grass.

"I'm - I'm sorry," Link was stammering, his eyes wide. "I shouldn't-"

"No don't, I'm...I'm sorry too-" Zelda could barely hear herself over the rain. Her thoughts turned back towards the camp by the fork. "W _e_ can't…not now..."

Link had distanced himself, unable to look at her and gripping a branch so tightly she could hear it snap in protest. _He is vulnerable,_ she realised with a hint of disappointment. _In no state for something like that._

Her wistful, guilty thoughts were drowned out by a sudden shout in the direction of the camps.

"Leena!" a voice cried. "Where is she!?" It split the cold air, echoing long and hollow across the river bank. Neither Link nor Zelda said anything as they sprinted back to the camp.

Buliara had a lamp in one hand and her spear in the other, and was frantically searching the Gerudo camp. Her assistant Leena was up as well, her own lantern in hand. The twin lights swung haphazardly in the darkness as Link and Zelda approached.

"Champions!" Builiara exclaimed when she saw them. "It is Ayu! We cannot find her!"

"W-what!?" Zelda cried. "She's _missing_? But she was bound!"

"I _know_ ," Buliara growled. "I tied her."

Zelda's mind was swimming. Ayu could be anywhere; even hiding in the shadows, waiting for a moment to strike out against the sleeping envoy of Zora. Link was frozen beside her, staring angrily at the Gerudo bodyguard.

"Why weren't you watching her?" he accosted her.

"She was bound to a tree!" Buliara retaliated. "Where were _you_ , Champion?"

Link and Zelda exchanged a quick, tense glance.

"We need to warn the Zora," Zelda managed, pushing her embarrassment aside. "There isn't time!"

The Zora camp was already awake. Whatever had happened had disturbed them as well.

"Ambassador Larella!" Zelda called as she and Link approached. There was no reply, and Zelda felt her stomach drop. The warriors were combing through the camp, just as fervently as Buliara had been searching hers.

"Larella!" Zelda called again, and the diplomat named Farlo came into view, holding his own lantern in hand. The stunned and sorry look on his face told Zelda all there was to know. A haggard sob escaped her as the commotion broke out around them.

The sky had split, a storm beginning to tear through the wetlands. The Zora crawled over every corner of the camp, while Buliara and Leena raced down to check on their horses.

They returned with solemn, marble faces. "Ayu must have taken Larella, as well as one of our horses," Buliara reported matter-of factly-when she and her companion returned. "Leena and I must leave, immediately."

Zelda was nearly in shock. "Wait - what!? Why?"

"We cannot travel with the Zora now, it is too dangerous. We will return to the desert, to counsel our Chief. Conflict is inevitable now." The bodyguard eyed the Zora camp with a weary resignation. She nodded her head in the direction of Hyrule Castle. "But you too must go. Rescue the Ambassador."

"The castle!? You really think-?"

Buliara nodded. "If you believe that this male Gerudo has taken your home, then Ayu will go there. I would travel with you but I would be a hindrance. I do not know the Castle layout, and I must inform Lady Riju of this."

Buliara and Leena had saddled and loaded up their remaining horse just as the Zora began to realise what had happened. It was Farlo and Rhett who came to confront the Gerudo women, and Zelda breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that they were not brandishing spears.

"You let her escape!" Rhett shouted, a long finger pointed at Buliara like a lance.

"I did no such thing," Buliara retorted.

Rhett would not back down, if he ever _had_. "You lulled us into security, and then kidnapped one of our own!"

"Why would I throw away our only hope for peace?" Buliara bellowed down at him. Her horse was stomping the ground nervously, reacting to the noise and the rage of her rider. "You saw the way she was bound. She could not have escaped alone. Why would I free her and remain? Have you considered, warrior, that there may be enemies among your own camp!?"

Wait - did Buliara mean? _Larella!?_ The thought was too horrible to entertain. _Could the Ambassador have freed the prisoner?_

Rhett was shouting a reply, but Buliara ignored him. She looked down to Zelda from atop her horse. "Little vai. Riju may not believe you are the Princess, but no ordinary Hylian vai would do what you have done." Buliara cast a regretful eye in the direction of the Castle. "Your only hope for peace is to find the Ambassador. Save her, and so save your Kingdom."

Zelda nodded, resolute. "I will." she said, though a lingering doubt hung in her words.

Buliara kicked the horse into a gallop, and she and Leena disappeared down the gravel path that led back towards Central Hyrule.

"Let's just go home, brother," Farlo was saying, tugging on Rhett's arm. The embittered Zora warrior said nothing as he scowled at the backs of the departing Gerudo, and then turned on his heel to march back to the Zora camp. As Zelda watched the Zora walk away, she realised that Link was no longer at her side.

She found him crouching inside his lean-to, his head in his hands. The rain had eased, and there was no time to waste. If they hurried, they might catch Ayu before she and Larella reached the castle.

"We need to go," she said. "I know where they have taken Larella,"

"I heard what Buliara said," Link grumbled, not looking at her.

"Then we need to form a plan. Figure out the best way into the castle," Zelda continued, hurriedly gathering up her things.

Link ignored her, and stood from his lean-to. Wordlessly, he pulled up his hood and turned to walk away from the camp.

"Where are you going!?" Zelda called after him, motioning towards their lean-tos. "I need your help with this."

Link spun around towards her. "Help!?" he cried, and then he shook his head. "No, no more - I'm _done_."

"What are you talking about!?"

"You said Hyrule isn't falling apart. Look around and tell me this isn't what _falling apart_ looks like," he seethed. "Bandits everywhere, two races at war. Sidon said he'd help and he didn't. Larella said she'd help and now she's gone!"

 _This again_. "We just talked about this! Things will get better!" Zelda argued fiercely, fighting through the urge - the _need_ \- to shake this exhaustion out of him.

Link almost seemed to laugh then, a mirthless smile flashing across his face. He reached up to his sword belt, fingers working the well-worn leather buckle. "I've had enough," he said frankly. "We tried helping them, and nothing we did mattered."

"So you're giving up!?" Zelda scoffed. "Running away like a...like a frightened child?" Link recoiled at her words, wounded by the accusation, but Zelda did not care. She was tired of inaction. She was tired of doubt, and _fear_ at every turn.

"There isn't time for this," she chastised him, giving in to her own frustration. "We are going to Hyrule Castle!"

" _No._ "He repeated firmly, pain and weariness lingering in his voice. "I can't. I won't."

Zelda watched with wide, uncomprehending eyes as Link unbuckled the Master Sword and its scabbard, letting them fall to the wet ground. He gave her one last apologetic look, and walked out into the rain.

* * *

 **A/N: My apologies for how late this one has gone up. Ch 10 will be up next weekend (5/20). I've got some oneshots in the works that'll go up in the meantime :). Thank you again for your feedback/support guys**


	9. Heist

**A/N: Apologies for the long wait for this one as well!**

* * *

 _Fields afire. The sky an angry red, weeping for the destruction of Hyrule._

 _Her knight is stumbling, weakened and near broken beneath the weight of it - the tragedy that none of them could have anticipated, could have even considered. And the Sword is broken too, shattered and splintered, dying just like he is._

 _A beady eye scans the field, singular and purposeful, until it_ finds _them. Snaking legs carry the automaton closer to them, purple corruption clinging to its mechanical body, robbing it of its original purpose. And for one suspended moment, Zelda finds herself in awe of it - a Guardian._

 _It angles forward, laser whirring, ready to fire, ready to take the only thing she has left. The defiance is simple._

No!

 _She throws herself in front of him, raising a hand to the sky with desperation. Divine light erupts around them, with Zelda determined to salvage the_ one _thing the Calamity had not taken from her. And the corruption is cowed, the Guardian collapsing dead before them. But her knight falls anyway, and in that moment the Sword_ speaks _._

 _The choice is made in the absence of all others; Zelda is going to do what she was born to do. She is going to get them out of there. She is going to end this chaos. And one way or another, she is going to save him._

* * *

Most nights, Zelda dreamed that she was alone - swallowed once more by the beast, and gripping, _grasping_ , onto a hope and a faith that this day of her wait within the Sanctum would be the last. Hands across her chest, a trepidatious light cradled between, clumsy and crude. A Princess with destiny stamped onto her right hand, but no clue how to wield it. Every night was the same; every dream repeated with the clarity and purpose of a pantomime. But, since her re-making, every morning seemed different.

Zelda woke alone, her eyes heavy and her face still puffy from what she guessed was her own crying. Against her palm she felt something cool, and in the low light of the morning found the Master Sword within its scabbard resting next to her. She must have taken it into her lean-to, so that it was out of the rain - so that neither of them would be alone that night.

 _He'll come back in the morning_ , she remembered telling the Sword. _If we chase him, he'll never stop running._

The Sword never spoke in reply. Perhaps it knew that she was right. After all, all storms eventually passed; all clouds moved on from the sun. Zelda peered out of her lean-to, and with some dismay was met with a gray overcast sky, oppressive and angry. She sat up and grabbed the Master Sword from its place by her bedroll, wincing at the suddenness of its weight, and stepped out into the morning light.

Link was not there waiting for her. Aside from his wind-blown lean-to and the blackened ashes of the fire he had made for her the night before, there was no sign of him. Disappointment twisted in her chest. For half that miserable night she had sat in deliberation, the Sword across her lap, her heart suspended between determination and devastation. Every minute that Link was gone, their chance of rescuing Larella before her imprisonment in Hyrule Castle diminished, but Zelda could not fathom attempting the mission alone. Nor could she just abandon the Master Sword without its master, or take it with her - as if it could ever be hers.

His absence brought an empty silence that she did not like. Link had always been there. Every waking moment that she could remember. Sometimes he was just a friend: someone to share the road with, someone to cook honeyed apples with, someone to sit by an oasis with and talk the afternoon away.

Sometimes he had been a _partner_. Zelda's thoughts deviated again to the...whatever it was...that had happened in the copse by the Hylia River. The moment thrummed discordantly in her chest; a moment of reprieve now flecked with troubled sorrow. But more than that. Between the embarrassment and disbelief, she felt a little giddy. It had been... _nice_.

But sometimes he had been an adversary, bickering and arguing with her like a child, or teasing and coy, as though he knew a secret that she didn't. Sometimes he was a protector too. Eyes on the horizon, with a steady stance, body and mind at the ready - the knight as always, with the Sword in hand, both a weapon and a piece of his soul. But...Zelda held the Master Sword now, and that stupid, _ridiculous_ boy was gone.

Grasping the scabbard more firmly, Zelda examined its gold and navy detailing, before passing her eyes over the diamond-patterned hilt and proudly winged crossguard. Again its weight gave her pause; the Sword was surprisingly light. Heavy enough to feel formidable, but not enough to feel truly like a burden. _Even I could carry this_.

Zelda looked to the looming Hyrule Castle, and the five menacing pillars of ancient stone and light that guarded it. If Ayu had ridden hard enough, she could have made it to the castle gates with Larella by now. There was no hope of catching the Gerudo and her hostage; saving the Ambassador would mean breaking into Hyrule Castle itself. Zelda scanned the surrounding grassy knolls for a mote or even the tiniest hint of a tunic rendered in white and blue, but found no sign of her companion against the sea of autumnal grasses and mud around the camp. _Link will come back_ , she told herself again. _He always has._

But...had he? Seeing the Sword without its master fed the niggling worry that had lingered at the back of her mind for some time now. The vague notion that the boy she travelled with now wasn't _really_ Link - at least, not the way he had been. The slumber had taken his memories, true, but maybe it had taken a little more.

Zelda tested the weight of the Sword again, tempted to draw it from its scabbard. If she wanted to, she could indeed carry it. Strap it to her back and wear it just as her absent knight had. And if he never came back, perhaps she should just take it to Hyrule Castle, and rescue Ambassador Larella alone. _I can defend myself_ , thought Zelda defiantly. _Maybe I could wield a sword too._

But not _this_ sword, Zelda reflected. This sword was not hers; it was bound to the soul of another - one who was simply _not here_ , she added with some chagrin. Maybe that was why the Sword felt so light; carrying it was not her burden. Zelda laid the Master Sword to rest inside Link's windswept lean-to, and busied herself with packing their things. She recited vitriolic, imaginary arguments in her head, tears beginning to rise unbidden as she called him all sorts of names for abandoning her like this. _Fool_ and _craven_. _You're not a hero_ , she found herself wanting to say, _you're just a boy_. She would grip him by the shoulders and _make_ him come back to her, _make_ him who he was. But the thoughts were cruel, vicious even, and ultimately pointless. Born of an exhaustion that Zelda would just have to work through; born of the shock of her sudden loneliness without him.

Their camp was all packed up and their horses both ready by the time Link returned. Like a weary elk he ambled over the hill by the camp, his tunic a little muddy and his hair still damp from a night spent out in the rain. If he had been exhausted before, he seemed now completely spent; his eyes were glassy and near vacant, marked by deep bags. Zelda buried the surge of affection she felt when she saw him, determined not to let the previous evening change things, or complicate their purpose. And she almost gave in, half-ready to take him into her arms, brush the hair from his eyes and apologise once again. _I'm sorry, I had no choice, it was either lay you down in that Shrine or lose you forever..._

They stood apart from each other, separated by the ashes of the now-extinguished campfire. Link had his arms folded across his chest, and finally lifted his eyes from the ground, giving her an apprehensive, guilty look.

"I'm sorry for last night," he muttered.

Seeing him again melted any residual anger she harboured. "Are you feeling any better?" Zelda asked softly.

Link shook his head. His eyes flitted to the Sword, which Zelda had propped up against one of the larger stones used to hold down their makeshift lean-to the night before, and she saw him tense.

"I just wish I could understand," she sighed. "You stormed that castle _alone_ a few months ago. This should be easier."

"That isn't it-"

"Then _why,_ Link?" Zelda pushed. "I...I don't..." _I don't know who you are anymore_. She couldn't say the words. Couldn't let herself voice what she knew was the truth; Link _was_ different, in ways that both infatuated and infuriated her.

"I would tell you if I knew," Link replied earnestly.

Zelda crossed her arms petulantly. The circles they were walking in had begun to make her dizzy. It felt like they had been talking about this for weeks; the same petty words and the same pointless arguments. "I can understand if you needed space." The hurt in her voice scratched against the back of her throat. "But...but you shouldn't have left."

Link's voice immediately became defensive. "I wasn't far."

" _We_ weren't far when Larella was taken!"

"We weren't exactly paying attention!"

"And whose fault is that-," Zelda's breath hitched, bringing with it a new tide of tears. She indignantly swiped at her eyes. "No, I shouldn't cry - I'm so _tired_ of crying."

But it was no use. A weak sob escaped her lips, and then Link's arms were around her, pulling her into a pacifying hug. Zelda tried to push him away, but Link was strong, and the sudden rushing despair within her stronger. Nothing was going well: the Domain was in shambles; her home taken by bandits; her first friend in years kidnapped, or worse, a traitor; and her silent knight both a shadow and a stranger. There was nothing to do but to concede; Zelda wept softly into Link's shoulder, and from the way he was breathing she guessed he was working through his own tears. But unlike in the copse, there was no shock at being so close to him. His warmth and solidarity was a welcome reprieve. It didn't matter what they were to each other now. They were both exhausted and alone and in need of _someone_. It would have to be enough.

"Why can't we just walk away?" Link said eventually, once his hiccups had passed. "I bought a house in Hateno, you know. I know I said we didn't have a home but, we could just go there. Be normal people."

 _Normal people_. Not a Princess and a Knight; just two kids alone in the world save each other. Isn't that what she'd always wanted? The dream was agonisingly tempting. But a dream was all it was; a one-hundred year echo of love she felt for a different boy in a different time. And then Impa's words were in her mind. _United the people can recover from any tragedy...but torn apart…_ Zelda could never be anything but the Princess, she realised. Not until this mess with Cinelgen was done. Not until her duty to Hyrule had been fulfilled.

Zelda wrenched herself free of him, and pointed a finger in the direction of Hyrule Castle. " _That_ is our home," she whispered mournfully. "Half destroyed and still corrupted. But it's ours."

"And you want it back?" Link challenged.

"Why shouldn't I? I've lost enough." Zelda explained morosely. _My mother...my father...my friends...even you_ , she thought. _And I'll never get any of you back_. "I don't care if I'm being stubborn. Stubbornness is all I have."

Link face was downcast; he clearly did not share her determination. It was almost noon, and the one thing they definitely didn't have was time. She fetched the sword from its resting place, and held it out to Link.

"Take it," she commanded.

Panic flashed across his face, and he backpedaled frantically. "I _can't_ …."

" _Take it._ Whether or not you come with me to Hyrule Castle, the Sword isn't my responsibility."

The tension in him withered. "You...you'd go without me?"

"It's not a choice I would make willingly," Zelda admitted, remembering how not long ago she'd wanted nothing more than a little independance. "But…if I have a chance at salvaging just one thing...Forget Hyrule for now. Forget the war. I just want to save my friend."

Her words seemed to steady him; her call to action to save Larella reaching through his confusion to a place where instinct dwelled. Link looked again at the castle, his brows furrowed as he measured its make.

"Feels like a cruel joke. It _was_ easy the first time. And that was _Ganon_ up there," he muttered, a rueful smile on his face. Zelda didn't know what to say. There was an honesty - a frankness - to his words that Zelda felt he had perhaps never shared with her. Link didn't seem to notice her slightly stunned look, and he continued talking.

"But Cinelgen is just a man, right?"

 _And men can be killed_. "A Gerudo like any other," Zelda affirmed. Link clenched his jaw, and Zelda saw his sword hand flex.

"And is this just a rescue mission?" There was a hint of tenacity in his voice; a desire to find someone to blame.

Zelda held the Sword out for him once again. "It doesn't have to be."

Link gave her a knowing smile, and took his sword and scabbard in hand, the Knight once more. Zelda wasn't sure if the smile intrigued or unnerved her.

"You got a plan?" Link asked, fastening the sword belt tight across his body. He rolled his shoulders experimentally to test the weight.

Zelda reflected on the Castle layout, her mind's eye tracing the many paths and winding staircases both within and without. "If Larella is there, she's probably in the lockup," she concluded. "There's an entrance near the docks. We'll just need to find a raft."

Link nodded, absorbing the information. He peered back at the Castle, a hand to his chin.

"I'm going to need the Slate," Link informed her after they mounted their horses. "Unless you want to learn how to use the rest of those runes?"

Zelda grinned, remembering the way he had shown her how to use the Cryonis rune inside Ha Dahamar Shrine. "You already know the answer to that."

"Good." Link smiled back. He rolled his shoulders again, bringing a hand to his wrist to adjust his bracer. "You sure about this?"

 _Not entirely._ Zelda nodded in spite of herself. "I'm ready to go home, Link."

There was nothing more to be said. They spurred their horses onwards, and rode northwest for Hyrule Castle.

* * *

 _Heave._ And _heave._ Link swung the Korok Leaf left, and then right, stepping through an unsung rhythm. And _heave_. In response, their simple raft glided through the silvery waters of the Hylia River, and gradually, like a storm crawling across the horizon, Hyrule Castle began to loom before them. Illuminated only by the full moon that peeked out through the cirrus clouds above, the Castle was a conglomeration of harsh shadows and jagged lines. Zelda stood behind him, out of the way; Link had expected her to be buried in the Slate, checking and cross-checking their plans for the assault, but she watched with a steeled face as the Castle's individual features came into focus. They sailed along the eastern approach, taking a longer route leading around Hyrule Forest Park, passing underneath the Helmhead Bridge to enter the castle moat. They met no resistance, and Link allowed himself to consider that this mission _could_ be easier than his first time assailing the castle.

The weight of the Sword still felt uneasy at his back. It was...lighter, than before. As though it was no longer his burden; or perhaps, that he was no longer worthy to wield it. _Well, tell me then,_ he beseeched it. _Are you and I still friends?_

He could ask the Hylian Princess the same thing. She'd been stiff and standoffish since he'd returned to her, and since she had returned to him the Sword. Understandable. He'd been an idiot, and a fool, whining about things as pointless as _what he does_ and then kissing her as if that would help. _Don't think about that_ , he told himself, but the thoughts invaded his mind regardless. He'd mentally replayed his actions the entire night he'd been on his own, lying in the wet grass wondering where the courage for _that_ had come from when the rest of his fortitude now seemed to elude him. He swiped the Korok leaf with maybe a _bit_ more force than necessary, embarrassment surging throug him, needing an outlet. _And heave_. He maneuvered their raft ever closer to the ruined castle, pushing his thoughts to focus on the rhythmic swiping of the Leaf and the sound of the rushing wind and the raft as it cut through the water. But the closer they sailed to the remains of the Castle docks, the tighter the knot in his stomach grew. _What if Larella isn't here? What if this is a trap? And what if Zelda gets hurt, or worse…?_

"Slow down," came the commanding voice behind him. Link pivoted on his heel to face her, nearly dropping the Korok Leaf in surprise. Zelda's face was partially obscured by her hood, but he could see the determined severity of her features. No longer his friend, no longer the Princess...but a _fighter_ , ready to take back her home. "We need to approach slowly," Zelda warned. "We have no idea what waits for us at the Docks."

Link simply nodded, and waited for the raft to slow before giving the Korok Leaf another swish across the sails. He was at least glad to be labouring through the cold night. He didn't know the exact date, but he could sense better than any other person the changing of the seasons. He'd spent a year out in the air of Hyrule after all; Link intimately knew the way the land shifted and changed with time - knew it better than he knew himself. _Winter's welcome_ , thought the knight wryly as he shivered through a gust of wind that rippled the moat waters.

He was grateful too that he and Zelda both had some decently weather-proof garb. They had swapped out their normal travelling gear for a pair of disguises; Zelda wore Link's grey Hylian tunic and hood, while Link wore his Hylian trousers and a moss-green winter doublet over a plain roughspun tunic. And to lend credence to their subterfuge, they both wore the signature blue and white neckerchiefs that they had acquired in their travels. The first taken from the Yiga woman they had fought at the fork, and the second from Ayu, the Gerudo hostage. It was a gamble; they had no idea if the neckerchiefs _meant_ something, or if perhaps the bandits would, for some reason, only wear them on the road. But a disguise was a disguise. If it didn't work, they would revert to their second plan, and fight their way through the Castle. Link hadn't been able to part with the Master Sword for that very reason. Perhaps it would give them away - he didn't care. How many modern Hylians even knew of the Master Sword, let alone could recognise it on sight? And if it did give them away - well, it was a _sword_ , not a soup ladle.

They were almost at the entrance of the docks now, their journey thus far surprisingly smooth. Perhaps concerningly so. Link noticed with some relief however that the air around Hyrule Castle was no longer flecked with motes of airborne Malice and decay; a small sign that the world had begun to move on. Link gave the leaf one last heave, and the raft floated slowly towards the narrow wooden pier on the north face of the castle, built just shy of the entrance to the actual docks themselves. Once the raft had thumped to a stop against the jetty, Link set about securing it and the Korok leaf to one of the rotting wooden bollards lining the wooden walkway. He gave the immediate area a quick scan - no signs of movement - and nodded to Zelda that it was safe to disembark.

"According to the map," she said quietly, the Sheikah Slate in hand and the small screen illuminating her face, "the Lockup should not be far from here. There is an excavation tunnel, now closed, where there is a back entrance into the gaol itself. If we're lucky, and avoid detection, we could be in and out of here in less than an hour."

She reattached the Sheikah Slate to her belt, adjusting her tunic so that the slate was hidden from sight. They knew that Cinelgen wanted the Slate - the spearwoman named Milagre had said as much when they'd encountered her at the Sacred Grounds - and so _that_ at least would need to remain hidden.

Cautiously, Link and Zelda began to advance up the path to the abandoned mine entrance. Link took point, his movements stiff and body taut as he scanned for any signs of life. Again they found no one, not even a single guard by the entrance to the mine. Though the reason for that, they discovered, was simple. The tunnel had been completely caved in; heavy rocks and rubble covered the entrance, and the wooden bracing was splintered and twisted. Link felt his guts churn; acid hot in his belly, making his knees weak and his fingers twitch, long-held instinct making him want to reach for the Sword. _We're going to have to go through the Castle._

"Rats," he heard Zelda mutter under her breath.

She turned to retrace their steps, but Link held an arm out barring her progress. He tensed, honing his focus, closing his eyes and dulling all his senses but the ones he needed. Time seemed to slow, and around him, Link could hear everything from the soft lapping of water against the pier to the howling of the wind through the torn towers of Hyrule Castle.

"Something isn't right," he murmured as he reopened his eyes.

Zelda's expression was blank, the faintest hint of lines in her brow. "Go on."

"There's no one around," he explained. "No one outside the castle at all."

Zelda didn't need him to explain further. "You think it's a trap."

"It might not be."

"But it may as well be," Zelda conceded. She gazed up along the bluffs that surrounded the castle, her jaw clenched as she pondered their options. Link followed her line of sight, before stopping to absorb their surroundings once more. Ahead of them one of the ancient pillars jutted out of the ground, cutting across the sky like a string of stars, its glimmering etchings pulsating to an unknown rhythm. There was another route to the lock up, Link knew; he and Zelda had poured over the Castle plans to find alternate routes in case this very situation occurred. But none of those routes were short, and the pair simply had no idea how many people Cinelgen _had_ within the Castle walls.

Zelda had wrapped her arms around herself, heavy doubt on her face. "Well...I suppose we know what we have to do," she muttered. _She still thinks I won't come with her_ , Link realised with regret.

"Zelda," Link called softly, redrawing his focus. She seemed to startle at hearing her name, but it gave him strength to say it. It gave him the courage he needed, knowing she was real.

Zelda gave him a puzzled look. "Y-yes?"

"I'm ready when you are," he assured her. "Larella's waiting for us."

Zelda breathed deeply, but eventually she dropped her hands to her side, and gave him a steadfast nod.

* * *

The aging Docks were housed in an enormous cavern of smoothly hewn stone, and consisted of little more than two wooden piers and a receiving bay built from surprisingly sturdy-looking brick and stone. The uneven roof of the cavern sloped laboriously towards the mouth however, and it appeared as though the entire place was continuously and eternally caving in on itself. As their raft glided into the cavern, Link spied a single Hylian guard sleeping on the far pier and felt his sword hand flex involuntarily.

"What do we do?" he whispered to Zelda, who stood beside him.

"Just don't say anything. Act like we should be here."

He frowned, hesitating. "What about you?"

" _I'll do the same thing_."

"Right," Link whispered again after a pause. He heaved the Korok leaf against the sail, adding. "That wasn't clear."

"How was that not clear-!?" Zelda hissed. The guard stirred, but did not wake. "Nevermind. Just don't talk."

"I can manage that."

"It's your specialty." Zelda clipped.

Link found himself rolling his eyes, although he could not hide the smirk on his face. A part of him had come to enjoy their verbal sparring, he supposed.

As quietly as they could, Link and Zelda disembarked from the raft, breathing silent sighs of relief that the Hylian did not stir. Mixed in with the slapping of water against the docks were the Hylian's rattling snores; his large head lolled heavy against his shoulder as he continued to slumber. Zelda waited on the pier as Link secured their raft, and while he worked Link allowed himself one, selfish sideways glance at her. She was assessing the castle map with her Slate, and in the faint light Link noticed her nose was a little red from the cold. He wondered what it'd be like to kiss, if it'd be as cold as it looked, and then he mentally rebuked himself for such a wayward thought. But still he wondered, unable to shake the events of the night prior from his mind. _Talk to her about it, fool,_ he told himself. _What are you so afraid of?_

 _Lots of things_ , Link figured with some shame. _Perhaps everything, these days._

Task finished, he checked his equipment once more to reassure himself that it was all there: his sword at this back and his crossbow at his hip, and range of movement uninhibited by his winter garb. He rejoined Zelda, and they stalked across the damp stones of the docks, the Hylian guard none the wiser as they ascended the aging brick steps of the receiving bay and headed deeper into the cavern, past the faintly glowing Shrine tucked against the back wall. Zelda paused to place a hand against the terminal as they passed the ancient structure, but Link ushered her on. _No time._

Their path diverged into two narrow tunnels at the back of the cavern, one twisting to the right and the other around to the left. Link tapped Zelda on the shoulder, and gestured to their two options, silently mouthing the question: _which tunnel_? She referred to her Slate and answered with a slow, deliberate gesture to the right.

Link raised his brows. _You sure?_

The glare she shot him in response was long and unimpressed. _Yes_.

They followed the right tunnel, a long curving walkway hewn into the bedrock that took them deeper into the belly of Hyrule Castle. Link lit a small torch to guide their way, and held an arm out for Zelda, which she took with a small amount of hesitation. The stairs underfoot were uneven and crumbling, and every now and then the tunnel seemed to shift and shudder as the foundations of the Castle creaked overhead, sending dust raining down along the tunnel walls.

Eventually they reached a small hollow at the end of the tunnel, marked by nothing more than an unlit wall torch and a large metal slate blocking the tunnel exit. Link passed the torch to Zelda and raised his hands to the cool metal. He recognised the surface immediately - it was one of the hefty bookcases of the Hyrule Castle Library.

He turned to Zelda. "Alright. Magnesis lesson."

Excitedly, she pulled the Sheikah Slate from its hiding place under her tunic, and tapped through to the Magnesis rune. She held the Slate out before her and gently clicked the small switch on the side of the Slate. Her eyes lit up, and she gasped in delight; Link himself could not see it, but knew that the Slate had illuminated the metal bookcase for her in a vivid fuchsia hue.

"You can use that switch to turn the scan on and off," Link explained. "And then just bring the Slate in front of yourself to activate the rune. But maybe-"

His words were cut off by the burst of energy that erupted from the Slate, a bright beam latching onto the heavy metal bookcase, which then rattled against the edge of the tunnel like a shutter against a window.

"-let me show you first."

"Sorry," Zelda muttered sheepishly, though her childish grin never faltered. No point taking this from her, Link decided, even if caution told him that there were likely to be anywhere between a handful to dozens of Cinelgen's men behind that bookcase. He hadn't _heard_ anything as they'd approached the tunnel exit, but then again the entire Castle had been suspiciously silent so far.

Zelda held the bookshelf steady, hands encased around the luminescent and ethereal horseshoe magnet that had formed around the Slate. Link mimed out the rest of the lesson for her. "Rotate the Slate this way to move things forward," he explained, spinning his hands to the right. He swapped his hands, adding: "And the other way to move things backwards."

"How do I remember which is which?" Zelda whispered, gently turning the Slate to the right. She must have underestimated its power, for the bookshelf abruptly lurched forward in response, the gray-and-white tiled marble and wall-high bookshelves of the Library coming suddenly into view.

Zelda yelped - half in delight and half in shock - and soon a cacophony of shouts and startled cries were echoing from within the Library.

"You just learn." Link sighed, feeling his stance widen as he prepared to face whoever, or whatever, they would find beyond the threshold. Zelda hurriedly stowed the Slate back on her belt, hiding it once more under her tunic. Her hands went to the blue and white fabric fastened around her neck, adjusting the loose knot that held it in place.

"Shouldn't have let me do that," she reprimanded quietly, her posture straightening and her features hardening as she too readied to meet the interlopers.

"As if I could have stopped you," Link shot back. Zelda ignored him, and stepped cautiously into the Library, with Link close behind, his heartbeat thrumming in his ears. The Library was unchanged since the last time Link had seen it: old books and papers strewn every which way; bookshelves lining the walls and rising almost to the ceiling; the roof partially caved in, with three pairs of twin pillars holding up what remained; and the balconies overhead almost entirely collapsed, accessible only by a double flight of stone stairs at the back end of the room. Above them the night sky jutted into the Library through the ruined roof, and Link was half-sure the entire place was about to collapse.

At the centre of the large hall, huddled around one of the wide, dark-wood desks that were scattered throughout, was a group of bandits. There were four of them, all armed and armoured, blue and white neckerchiefs around their necks; two Hylians attired in travelers' garb, a wide-set Zora male with freckled spiny fins, and a vaguely-familiar white and brown feathered Rito, with a hint of age about his plumage. The glimmer of recognition sent a jolt of unease through Link, but he managed to keep his face still. The bandits were eyeing the bookcase suspiciously, the cards strewn about their desk evident of a now-abandoned game. Zelda strode past the bookcase confidently and into the ruined Library, her long blonde braid swinging about her shoulders.

"Hello there." she said curtly as she approached the table. The group of bandits gaped at them silently, until the Rito finally spoke.

"Who are you?" he barked at them.

"Name's Rhea." Zelda announced. "This is my travel partner, Nell."

Link followed her words with a short, two-finger wave. Casual and calm, though underneath his mask his blood was afire with a muted panic.

If Zelda was feeling even a little the same, she did not show it. "Apologies to barge in. We got lost on the way from the Docks."

The Rito narrowed his eyes, beak clicking with distrust. "Where're you from? You don't sound Hylian."

"Eh-yeah, accent's funny," chuckled one of the Hylians, a rosy-cheeked woman with corn-coloured hair that was braided longer than Zelda's. The second Hylian, a wiry boy no older than ten, laughed nervously along with her.

Zelda fought to maintain her composure. They hadn't had the time to create overly detailed backstories. "I - uh - I'm from-," she stammered.

"Necluda." Link said firmly. "Near Lantern Lake."

Zelda turned to look at him, her eyes flickering with recognition: _Kakariko Village._

"Yes," she affirmed. "If you must know, Nell and I are Sheikah defectors. Those _...traitors_ , have a unique accent."

"Do they now?" the Rito asked ponderously. Link wanted to bury his face in his hands. "You don't _look_ Sheikah."

"You ever met a Sheikah, Yinli?" the Hylian woman goaded. Yinli bristled, clearly not fond of being challenged.

"No," he admitted reluctantly, pacing slowly towards Link and Zelda. Link spied a bulky Falcon bow at his back; this one appeared to be modified to fire multiple arrows simultaneously. Link felt his sword hand flex, and for the first time in days, or maybe weeks, a faint warmth from the Sword at his back, and fainter still, the hum of a long forgotten song. Yinli's eyes locked onto Link. "But I _have_ met this boy."

Link realised a little too late where he had seen this Rito: by the side of Chief Kaneli, elder of the Rito of Lake Totori. Link had stood before them after he had freed Divine Beast Vah Medoh, wearing the same sword that he wore now.

Link inhaled slowly, his back stiffening. "...shit."

O _f course_ they'd be recognised; he encountered many people during his travels to appease the Divine Beasts, and their run-ins with Milagre had undoubtedly spread through the bandits' ranks.

Yinli turned his attention to Zelda; she must have sensed Link's alarm, for she had slowly begun backing away from the bandits.

"And you must be the mageling," Yinli went on. "Cinna will be most glad that his trap worked."

The other three began to advance on Link and Zelda, weapons brandished; though Link noticed that the youngest, the Hylian boy, hovered at the back of the group.

Link glanced over to Zelda, and mouthed a single, urging word: _run_.

Whip-like, the tension in the room broke. Link drew his sword, lurching forward toward the Rito, but Yinli dodged, wings propelling him effortlessly into the air. In his periphery, Link saw Zelda dive behind one of the enormous stone pillars, her light-shield raised as she dodged arrow fire from the Rito. _She's gotten quick_ , Link noticed. He refocused just in time to catch the butt of the Zora's spear with his free hand. Pivoting through the thrust, Link used the momentum of the warrior's jab to wrench the silverite weapon from its wielder. The Zora cried out, and stumbled off-balance under the sudden jolt. Not a movement out of place, Link spun the spear around and slammed the butt hard across his opponent's face. He heard the metal crunch savagely against bone, and the Zora was thrown limp against the Library floor.

There was a familiar scream in the direction of the staircase, and Link felt his blood run cold, the silverite spear suddenly dropped and forgotten. His legs were carrying him in the direction of the stairwell, and the panic was noose-like around his neck when he saw Zelda scrambling up the stairs with a flying Yinli in hot pursuit. She spun around, managing to fire a lance of energy at the still airborne Rito. It caught his foot and he recoiled, his flight disrupted.

Not a moment to waste. Link drew his crossbow and aimed a bolt at Yinli; he breathed in slowly, feeling his pupils dilate and the hair on his arms rise. The song was in his ears then, loud and clear. He fired.

The bolt tore through Yinli's neck, piercing the white and blue neckerchief. The Rito crashed heavily to the Library floor, and when Link let himself exhale, he saw that Zelda was crouching atop the first flight of stairs, fingers rigidly gripping the crumbling railing, her face written with shock.

He wasn't able to look her way for long; a great weight suddenly bowled him over, and Link found himself sprawled against the ground, sword out of reach, with the Hylian woman's weight crushing his torso, her hands throttling him. He choked and kicked, nails raking ineffectively against her gloved hands. _Cinelgen wants me alive, fool!_ Link wanted to scream at the woman, but the words were wisps caught in his strangled throat. He tried to throw her off, lurching his weight sideways, but the woman was heavy and held her weight against his chest. Through the mayhem, Link noticed that her breath stunk of stale bitterness and that her cheeks were not naturally rosy, but flushed bright red - the telltale signs of a drunk. He wondered if Zelda's cheeks looked any different.

 _Focus, boy!_ It was Otra's voice he heard then, and as his consciousness faded Link remembered that he knew how to get himself out of this.

He hooked a hand around the woman's arm, and dug the fingers of his free hand into her neck. She lurched backwards, and Link used the opening to hook his legs up under her chest and around her neck, spinning the woman over backwards and off of his chest. Winded and hacking but _free_ , Link gasped desperately for air, feeling as though his lungs were about to burst. He scrambled to his feet, a hand already on the hilt of his sword. The woman had recovered and was in pursuit, her Demon Carver held aloft in preparation for an overhead blow. Spinning around to face her, Link drew the Sword, parrying an aggressive strike with his blade. The steel sung, but the woman was not deterred. She pressed forward, swinging wildly, and suddenly Link saw sky and stars as he toppled over backwards, tripping on a pile of books.

And then, almost as fiercely as she had tackled him, the woman was slammed sideways against one of the bookshelves by some great metallic monolith. _A bookcase!_ Link saw that on the stairs above him, Zelda was holding the Sheikah Slate. A glimmering horseshoe magnet was encased in her hands, an equally brilliant smile on her face. Through the pain and the shock, Link was struck by a vast and enamoured sense of pride. The sound of boots against stone brought him back to the present; behind him, the young Hylian boy was making a mad dash for the Library entrance, no doubt to warn the rest of the Castle of Link and Zelda's presence.

No time to think. "Zelda!" Link called out, his voice hoarse and strained. "Remote bomb, _now!"_

The Princess frantically tapped the Sheikah Slate, eventually managing to clumsily pull from it a round Remote Bomb. With all her strength, she tossed the bomb to Link. He caught it by its small circular handle, before pivoting and lobbing it at the entrance in a single, fluid motion. The luminescent sphere arced through the air above the fleeing Hylian, and Link held a hand out behind him as he waited for the right moment. "Detonate on my word!" he called over his shoulder.

Just as the bomb passed across the stone balcony above the entrance, Link closed his hand. "Now!" he shouted. Behind him, Zelda thrust the Sheikah Slate forward, and the bomb exploded into a sphere of light, sending stone and debris crashing down in front of the Library entrance. The young Hylian was thrown back by the explosion, and rolled along the tattered red carpets.

Link was on him within moments, pinning the young man to the ground by the shoulders.

"Get off, get off me!" the boy cried, but Link held firm.

"You didn't see us," Link managed to rasp, his voice little more than a reedy whine.

" _Get. Off_!" the boy growled, squirming under Link's weight to no avail. Link saw that there were budding tears in the boy's eyes.

" _Say you didn't see us!"_ Link demanded, more power in his voice. The boy managed to wriggle an arm free, movements sporadic as he flailed and lashed out, sharp nails catching Link across the face. The knight responded by gripping the boy's wrists firmly, slamming him against the ground and pinning him. The boy was shrieking, squealing like a babe, and suddenly Link no longer had any patience. These _fucking_ bandits, so many of them, causing so much destruction, after all he had done.…

He raised a fist, ready to unload all of his frustration and fury onto the poor boy...

Zelda was at his side then, wrenching Link back. "Let him go, Link!"

He ignored her, but withdrew his fist. Bracing an arm across the boy's chest and shifting his weight, Link held out a hand to Zelda. "Rope," he commanded, wincing at the pain of speaking even such as short word.

Zelda found him one among their inventory in the Slate, and Link bound the young Hylian hand and foot, dragging him over and securing him to one of the shattered pillars. He gagged the young boy with the blue neckerchief that had been tied around his neck.

"Needs must," Zelda apologised to the Hylian, who was glowering at them with a bristling rage. She pulled Link aside, a hand firm around his arm, eyes scolding. "What is _wrong_ with you?" she reprimanded under her breath. "He's just a child."

Link shrugged and pushed off from her, not wanting to be near Zelda while the anger still pulsed through him.

As Zelda rechecked the Slate again for their next move through the Castle, Link gingerly brought his hands to his neck. The flesh was tender, and judging by the pain, would bruise badly. Deliberate and slow, Link inhaled, testing his breath and finding it laboured and harsh. _Stupid woman_ , he thought as he looked over to the body of the pie-eyed and flushed Hylian who had almost strangled him. But he still lived, thanks to Zelda's quick thinking with the Slate, and the healing didn't take long. Link found that Mipha's healing flowed easily now, almost second nature, as though it were his own power and not a gift. It healed more than just the pain; bit by bit, he felt the anger receding too. When Link opened his eyes, Zelda was standing before him, patiently waiting with her hood drawn and the Slate in hand.

"Hey," he said gently.

"Ready to go?" Zelda asked, not noticing his fond smile, her face somehow even more marbled than it had been. Link caught himself, and nodded wordlessly, following Zelda out of the Library.

* * *

Link blinked heavily as they emerged once more to the exterior of the Castle; the sun had broken past the east horizon, rays of low light bathing the ruined Castle cliffs in swaths of deep amber. They didn't have much more time; the higher the Sun climbed, the smaller their hope of sailing away from the Castle undetected. As it was, they had no hope of finding this Cinelgen now. Link couldn't shake the disappointment, or the newfound hunger that dwelled within him, amid the frenzy and the panic, for something a little like vengeance. He wasn't sure if anger suited him, but it beat cowardice, at least.

"Not far," Zelda assured him as they jogged through a tunnel that ran along the back of the Castle. Wide window-like breaches were carved into the stone, casting long shadows along their path. The tunnel opened to a faintly familiar courtyard, and overhead Link spied the tower of Zelda's study rising spear-like into the morning sky. For a moment he saw that she was gazing up at it as well, eyes heavy and yearning. _We'll go back there_ , he wanted to tell her. _One day soon_.

Passing under the tower's shadow, they hugged the courtyard walls to avoid being detected by two patrolling guards, and descended via a hidden walkway down into the remains of a storage cellar.

"Oh, no, what happened?!" Zelda cried beside him once they entered the room."Where are the _stairs_?!"

Link peered over the balcony at the centre of the room; it towered above a near hundred-foot drop down to the empty cellar below. There were large planks of splintered and rotting wood snaking their way down on the stone walls, the dilapidated remains of the destroyed staircase.

"We need to get down there?" Link ventured.

Zelda nodded, her brows furrowed in frustration. "The entrance to the lockup is next to the storage cellar."

"Only one way then," Link concluded. Zelda squinted at him, and in explanation he made an arcing motion with his arm, accompanied by a low whistle. _We jump._

Zelda shook her head emphatically. "No. Absolutely not."

"We have a paraglider."

"Are you _insane_?"

Link quirked a brow, folding his arms at his chest. "You've asked me that before,"

She just seethed at him, but then her features grudgingly relaxed. She looked back to the cellar entrance, at at the rapidly brightening morning light. "We don't have time to climb down. So...I suppose you're right."

Link could barely hide his eager grin as he unhooked the paraglider from his belt. He knelt down by the balcony's edge. "Make sure you hold on tight," he cautioned. Gingerly, Zelda wrapped her arms under his and around his shoulders, and then her legs around his waist.

"Make sure you don't kill us," she said as she settled herself against him. Link paused, steadying himself at the balcony edge, taking a second selfish moment to savour her warmth.

And then he leapt forward. He heard Zelda gasp, a quick surprised intake of air, as the wind rushed past his ears and his stomach flew towards his chest. The stone floor below was rocketing up to meet them, and Link grabbed his paraglider and let it unfurl above them. The whiplash of the sudden stop caused Zelda's legs to give way, and she shrieked, her arms wrapped tightly around his chest, constricting him. Link let out an emphatic groan, coughing and spluttering against the sudden pressure.

"Link!" she cried, fingers scrabbling at him, seeking purchase against his woolen doublet.

" _Just hold on_ ," he managed. "Don't let go."

Thankfully despite their foolhardy jump, they floated swiftly down to the cellar floor, and touching down, Link gasped for air as Zelda finally let go. Zelda was in front of him instantaneously, one hand on his shoulder and the other gingerly touching his neck.

"Oh, Hylia, I'm sorry," she was apologising. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, no," Link said, letting out a laugh. "It's fine really. Just a shock."

Her fingers were gently probing his neck, scrutinizing for any damage, eyes on him like he was a specimen. Link watched her contently, happy to be doted on, and realised a moment too late that he'd absentmindedly placed a hand at her waist.

In unison, the pair noticed their closeness, all but springing apart. "Let's keep moving," Zelda muttered, hand flying up to fiddle with her hair and readjust her braid. She made for the cellar exit.

"Wait, Zelda," Link called to her. "When are we gonna talk about what happened?"

Zelda stopped in her tracks, though she did not turn to look. "Depends," she said cooly. "A lot happened."

Link huffed, his patience thin. "With _us_."

"Nothing to talk about." She began walking once more for the exit. "We haven't the time for this now."

"Hey, c'mon. Don't do this." Link jogged slightly, catching up to her. He reached out to her, intertwining their hands, but Zelda wrenched herself free, scowling at him in disgust.

"Link, honestly!" she snapped.

Link opened his mouth to argue back, but found his words caught in his throat. _Why is she being like this?_ "You know, I thought you liked me." he frowned.

Zelda exhaled, equally impatient. "What are you even talking about?"

He couldn't explain it to her in full; how he had met a bard named Kass, and how the Rito had sung Link the song of his final moments. _The Princess' love for her fallen knight awakens her power…and within the castle the Calamity is forced to cower._

"I _heard_ that, before..." The words were unfathomable, but he needed to know. "That you loved me."

She was incredulous. "I _loved-_ who told you that?"

"A bard, alright - look, it doesn't matter." Link struggled to find the words, to wrangle his disparate thoughts into the question that had plagued him since he'd met her - suddenly unsure if he even wanted to know the answer at all. "I just wondered if it still meant something."

"Meant something? _Now_?" Her voice was low, accusatory. As if he had any say in the charge. "Link, do you have any idea how _different_ you are?"

"How am I _different?_ "

"You just - look, we don't have time for this!"

"Just answer me, _please_! Just this one thing!" he was desperate, somehow knowing that if he didn't make her speak _now_ , she never would.

"Fine! You _are_ different!" Zelda blurted out. "I didn't expect you to be this _angry_. Or...indecisive. I thought after a while you'd be...mostly the same." Link could see the quiet disappointment on her face, and every word she spoke was a barb in his chest.

 _Indecisive. Another word for craven_. His spirits sank and then, seized by a terrible understanding, he backed away from her. "Wait...you...you liked me better before, didn't you? When I was..."

"What if I did?" Zelda countered remorselessly. " _That_ Link wouldn't have _left_ me. _That_ Link wouldn't have almost beaten a _child_!"

"That Link barely spoke! He never argued with you. He wasn't much more than a servant!

"How can you say that? You... _you_ have no idea who he was."

"Of course I don't!" Link shouted. "I never met him! And you know what!? That idiot also had a family, and friends, and a home. Right now I only have _you_ , Zelda, so we have to talk about what happened."

She placed a pacifying hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," was all she said, eyes appraising him with regret. Link realised she wasn't seeing _him_ ; but rather an echo, a shadow, the lingering ghost of a dead man. She dropped her gaze. "What happened. It never should have."

Zelda gave his shoulder an apologetic squeeze, and turned towards the exit, leaving him there; alone and heartbroken and without any choice but to follow.

* * *

There were three guards at the Lockup, all Hylian, and all hypervigilant for any intruders. They accosted Link and Zelda the moment they saw them, demanding they state their names and purpose, but received no answer. Link disarmed them all, and aided by Zelda's light shield, herded them into a cell.

"The Chief will know of this!" one of the guards spat.

"I hope he does," Link told them dryly.

Zelda was already on the other side of the dark and damp Lockup, kneeling by one of the cells with her hands through the bars. Link sighed with relief when he approached the cell and saw the cerulean-scaled Ambassador huddled on the cell floor, her webbed hands in Zelda's.

"We're going to get you out of here," Zelda reassured their friend, and Larella nodded silently. Her face was tinged pink and swollen from what Link guessed - and hoped - were tears. He noticed with some detachment however that all of her jewels were gone. She'd had a new set made when she'd become Ambassador, he remembered Zelda telling him. A Zora's jewels were an extension of their purpose, their soul. _And now Cinelgen has taken them from her, and has made her no one._

Larella motioned to the Sword at Link's back. "Are you here to kill Cinelgen as well?"

Both Hylians were taken aback by the Zoran woman's frank words, however her calm features told that she meant no jape. _What did they do to you?_ Link wondered, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck tingle, and the Sword at his back hum with heat.

"Our priority is you, Larella," Zelda told her, and Link saw Larella's face fall. He stood to open her cell, heaving his full weight onto the large mechanical lever that held the cell bars closed. Zelda busily consulted her Slate for a route out of the Lockup. He heard her sigh; _bad news_.

He returned to Larella's cell, and offered her a hand. "Can you walk?"

"Of course, Champion." Larella managed a weak simper. "I'm am unhurt."

The Ambassador rose to her feet, and Link saw the bruises around her wrists and along her arms. He decided to ignore her lie. _Most likely it is nicer than the truth._

"You weren't exposed to any Malice were you?" Link asked, remembering the illness that had gripped Sidon, and Zelda's theory that the Zora were susceptible to it.

Stepping from the cell, the Ambassador shook her head. "Thankfully, no."

Zelda returned to them with Slate in hand, a concerned look on her face. "Our only way out is either through the collapsed tunnel, or the West Passage, and we would need to swim across Hyrule Moat if we go that way."

"How do you propose to get through the collapsed tunnel?" Larella asked.

The trio walked to the entrance of the tunnel, ignoring the aggravated shouts of the Hylian guards behind them. As it had appeared from the outside, the tunnel was completely caved in. Upon further inspection, it seemed as though it had been deliberately destroyed. Link ran a hand along the rubble and rocks that blocked their way.

"Only one way then," Zelda said. She lifted her tunic to reveal the Sheikah Slate, and pulled a gleaming square Remote Bomb from the screen. Behind them Larella gasped, startling back. " _Careful!"_

Link shook his head at the idea. "No. It'll be too loud and take too long."

Ruefully, Zelda returned the bomb to the slate. "What do you propose then, _Hero_? We dig our way out?"

Link winced at the nickname, no longer a jest but an insult. "The West Passage is safer. If we try to leave this way the entire Castle will hear us."

"And what if the West Passage is teeming with Cinelgen's men? How will we get out that way?"

Link breathed a long sigh. He pointed to his sword hilt. "You know how."

"No, I'm not putting Larella at risk. I'm not putting _you_ at risk-"

There was a choked gasp behind them, and Link and Zelda spun on their heels to see three Hylians standing behind them. Link recognised two of them immediately: the spear wielder Milagre, the Hylian named Inglis, whom he had felled with an arrow at the Sacred Grounds. Milagre had a steel dagger held to Larella's neck, and was grinning hungrily. Hiding in her shadow was the young boy Link had bound in the Library. Milagre ran a free hand through the boy's hair.

"Well done, little one, they were just where you said they'd be," she said warmly, and then she pushed the dagger closer against Larella's throat, her fierce gaze returning to Link and Zelda. "One move and she's dead."

The three guards that Link had imprisoned had been released, and approached slowly, their swords drawn and their expressions hungry.

Just as the Hylians closed in, Link realised that Zelda had intertwined her hand in his. Her eyes were full of fear, her fingers clasped tight against his, and it wasn't until the guards pried them apart that she let go.

* * *

While the rest of the Castle remained mostly in disrepair, Zelda noticed that special care had been given to the Throne Room. Most notably, the shattered floor had been repaired - if somewhat poorly - by two dozen rows of long wooden planks that were crudely nailed together.

The rest of the large circular room had been cleaned of debris left by the Calamity, though frankly little else had been done. These _bandits_ inhabiting her Castle evidently cared little for the structure itself.

Link and Zelda had been ushered into the Throne Room by Milagre and her assistant Inglis respectively, with the three accompanying guards at their back, all carrying longswords. While they wore no masks, their tightly-fitting crimson garb gave them away as Yiga. Even Milagre herself now wore the telltale Yiga clothes, though hers were black rather than red, and the long white scarf she wore about her neck was embroidered in deep blue thread - an inversion on the endemic neckerchiefs that Link and Zelda had seen. _She must hold a special place among their ranks_ , Zelda mused as they walked her through the halls of her home.

Inglis threw her against the wooden planks when they reached the Throne Room, and Milagre followed suit with Link. They had not been bound, but Milagre had confiscated Link's Sword and the Sheikah Slate while Inglis had taken the crossbow. Cautiously, Link and Zelda rose to their feet. The three guards brandished their weapons behind the pair, while Milagre pointed her own spear at Link's face. Strangely, Inglis carried no weapons - however Zelda remembered that he had been injured by Link at the Sacred Grounds not a few weeks prior. Perhaps he was still recovering.

"Cinna is eager to meet you again," Milagre said menacingly. "He'll be most impressed at the speed with which you reached Larella, and most pleased that you did not take her. Poor girl."

Ambassador Larella had been unceremoniously returned to her cell, a small cut at her neck where Milagre's dagger had pressed against her scales. Zelda did not like to think what it was about the Zoran woman in particular that _pleased_ Cinelgen. Zelda glowered at the spear wielder, and the Sheikah Slate that the other woman now wore at her hip. Link was silent beside her; they exchanged a single, regretful glance. _You should never have told him how you felt_ , Zelda chided herself. _Now you have really lost him._

She gazed up at the raised balcony that held her father's throne, and at the Royal Crest looming behind it; a trio of triangles encircled by a repeated pattern of musical notes. _A lullaby_ , Zelda thought sadly. _My mother used to sing it to me.…_

As they waited for Cinelgen to join them, Zelda was struck by the faint sense of unfamiliarity. This place was her _home_ ; it had been for seventeen years. And then for one hundred years after that, she had been trapped within this very room. But now, after only a few short months away, the inner sanctum of Hyrule Castle felt entirely foreign. Perhaps it wasn't only her knight that was now changed.

Cinelgen's voice boomed across the room, larger and more full-bodied than the man himself.

"Hello, hello, hello…" he welcomed as he strode in through a side entrance, and up the circular stairwell to the throne. He carried an elaborately painted bow at his back, but otherwise his garb was plain, hardly suited to such a grand palace. "So good to see you here."

"This is _our_ home," Zelda argued.

"Is it now?" Cinelgen laughed. He sat down in her father's throne, laying the bow across his lap. _Not my father's throne_ , Zelda corrected herself, _my_ _throne._ "By what rights do you claim Hyrule, girl?"

"I am its Princess. Link is its Hero." she pointed an accusing finger at the Gerudo male. "By what rights do _you_ claim it?"

Cinelgen was non-plussed by her revelation. He crossed a long leg over his knee, and leant back against the red velvet of the throne. "Because I can. Because no one else did. Where were you then, _Princess_ , when the Successors marched into the Castle?"

Zelda could not answer, only frown. _Weeping myself away in Kakariko, that's where I was. Wasting Link's time. Wasting everyone's time._

"Is this how you plan to rule then?" Link demanded. "Murdering the Zoras, starting wars between the races, kidnapping the Ambassador?!"

"It is the only way to rule, Champion." Cinelgen boomed down from the balcony. He looked back to Zelda. "If you really are the Princess, then I lay the blame at your feet, girl. One hundred years ago Hyrule was at peace. Now it's people are leaves in the wind, vulnerable and weak. So many of them have no place in this world."

"Well turning them against each other doesn't help!" Link asserted. There it was again, Zelda noted, the tenacity, the strength in him. It was enough to bolster her as well.

"Link is right," she said. "How can you justify what you've done?"

She shot Link an affirming glance, and saw an affected, hopeful look cross his features.

"So that I can be their savior," Cinelgen explained, voice full of contempt. He stood from the throne, and walked to the edge of the balcony, his painted bow in hand. "The people will fight, and fight, and tear themselves apart before they admit the truth - that _they_ are the cause of their own misery."

" _You_ were the one to attack them!" Zelda shouted up at him.

Cinelgen shook his head, and clicked his teeth. "Perhaps I did, girl," he admitted. "But I did not send that envoy. I did not bar the Zora from Gerudo Town. And I did not declare war on the Gerudo - all the Zora needed was a little push, and we are where we are. Soon the Successors will rise as a stabilising force, and the people will have no choice but to crown me their King."

Zelda scowled, absorbing his words. "That will never work. They will never accept you."

" _Why?_ Because I'm Gerudo?" Cinelgen bristled, angered by her words. "Because your Calamity once looked just like I do? I don't care. Right now, all I want is the boy, and the Slate."

"No." Zelda shook her head. She fingered the clasp of her right glove.

Cinelgen gripped the railing of the balcony. _"Excuse me?"_

"You can't have him. Or the Slate. Or any of it." Zelda said defiantly. She tore off her right glove, and turned the back of her hand towards him, revealing the glowing Royal Crest. "This is _my_ Kingdom."

Cinelgen saw the symbol on her hand, just like the one behind the throne, and drew back. "Ah...so it is you." he gibed, clearly amused. "Thank you for letting me know."

The Gerudo motioned down to his guards. "Kill the Princess. And bring me the Champion."

Zelda sensed the crossbow bolt aimed in her direction, and deflected it with a light barrier. Inglis, her captor, stumbled back in shock, frantically reaching for another bolt to load into the crossbow. He fumbled, and Zelda used the opening to rip the weapon and the bolt from his hand and quickly loaded the bolt as she had seen Link do so many times. _You can't have that either_. Inglis swiped at her, but she leapt out of his reach, spinning around to fire a bolt into the guard behind them. It cut through his chest, and he crumpled to the floor.

There was a yelp from Link's direction, and Zelda glanced across to see him deftly disarm Milagre, bringing the butt of her spear hard across the woman's face. Then Inglis was on her again, tackling her to the ground, the crossbow flying from her grip. Zelda placed both hands against Inglis' chest and, as hard as she could, she blasted him with a surge of energy. Inglis was thrown from her, landing within a few feet of the crossbow. _He still has the bolts. You cannot let him get it_. She scrambled along the rough wooden planks, mindful of her balance, and saw in her peripheral vision that Link had retrieved the Master Sword and the Slate from Milagre, who was out cold, lying against the wooden platform. He held the Slate and scabbard in one hand, and the Sword in the other, ready to face down the remaining guards.

Both Inglis and Zelda scrambled for the crossbow, but Zelda was closer, and managed to snatch it up first. She had no bolts, but she had her powers. Gripping the crossbow in her right hand, Zelda focused her energy into the very wood itself. She stood, loaded the string, and aiming it at Inglis, she _fired_.

A bolt of energy - a real _bolt_ , as if it were made for the crossbow - struck Inglis in the arm, and he wheeled away from her. There was a scream and a low groan to her right, and Zelda saw that Link had finished off the remaining two guards. Inglis was not defeated however, and he advanced once more, muscling against her and attempting to pry the crossbow from her grasp.

"Inglis! Get out of the way!" Cinelgen shouted. Zelda raised her eyes to see him nocking two arrows to his painted bow. Inglis pushed off of her, throwing Zelda to the ground.

"No! _Zelda_!" It was Link. He was running to her, the Slate and Sword in hand. Above, Cinelgen's bowstring was drawn back. Link and Zelda met in the centre of the room, just in time for Link to catch the two arrows meant for her. They pierced his chest just above his heart, ripping through his doublet, and Link barrelled into her, sending them both tumbling precariously across the planks. Out of shock or instinct or both, Zelda raised a hand towards their attacker.

Larger than any other before it, almost as wide as the room itself, a gleaming barrier of light unfurled from her hand.

Princess and Knight had landed in a heap against the stone floor; Link was half collapsed against her, winded by the two arrowheads that protruded from his chest. Somehow, among the chaos, the Sword and Slate were still gripped in his hands.

"Link, Link, oh, Hylia, _no_..." Zelda muttered frantically, bundling him up and holding him as tightly as she could. "I'm here, I've got you."

She was weeping then, though she did not know it. Her hand trembled, but she held it high, and the shimmering light never faltered. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault..."

She closed her eyes, trying to find focus. _We need to do something. We need to go! But how!? The Slate? Can we risk it? What is left of us to risk?_

Slicing through the panic, Zelda felt something soft against her cheek. Gingerly, as though transgressing ten-thousand years of tradition, Link had raised a hand to her face, and was gently thumbing away her tears. Blood was flowering around the twin arrows in his chest, and his eyes were glassy, his skin pallored.

"I'll figure something out. Just stay with me," Zelda begged. " _Please_."

Link smiled up at her. "And here I thought you didn't like me," he murmured, his voice barely more than a whisper. Zelda let out a laugh - a weak, exhausted simper - and her tears rolled freely down her cheeks as she held him close. For a moment, they were the only ones in the whole Castle, the barrier of light searing around them, protecting them from harm. _Just two kids, alone in the world save each other_ …

Link exhaled, his eyes glazing over, his low breathing seeming to fade...

"No, no, no, no," She was desperate now, in a horrible and hollow way. _Not again. Not again! I can't lose you again!_

There was a thumping against her barrier, and Zelda saw Cinelgen standing before her, repeatedly slamming his bow against the sheet of light. She gazed up at him, trying to comprehend, trying to find a way out, a way through….

Her eyes flitted to the Royal Crest on her hand, glowing as brilliantly as the sun, somehow both a part of her and separate. _Separate_. Zelda closed her eyes. Link was squirming, shifting in her grip, and she had little time. Casting her mind back, Zelda thought on all the instances that she had used her powers. The Cleansing Rituals, crafting the crossbow bolts for Link, surging her power into the Malice - and the way she had always felt _separate_ in those moments. As though she went to...some _other_ place.

 _That's it. That's how._ It had happened once before, she recalled, when they had cleansed Akkala Tower. One moment she'd been standing with Link and the Master Sword, and then for half a heartbeat, she had been in the _other place_ , panicked and gasping for air. It had only been for a moment, and she had gone there alone. _But I'm stronger now._ If they could go there, together, then maybe they could escape...Zelda opened her eyes to look up at Cinelgen again, this time resolute, unbreaking. She scowled at him, and mouthed a silent threat. _We'll be back._

"Hold still," Zelda whispered to Link. She closed her eyes again. _Just a moment more, sweetheart. I'm going to get us out of here. This time I'll save us both._

Link shifted again, pushing off and rolling away from her. Zelda's eyes snapped open to see him lying on the floor, propped up on his elbows. She looked down and saw that he'd laid the Master Sword and Sheikah Slate across her lap.

Then faintly, the realisation too slow or perhaps too quick, she noticed that he'd opened the teleport function on the Slate.

"Have courage, Zel," he rasped, a small smile on his face. "I'll see you soon."

"No, wait-!"

But he was too fast. Before Zelda could move, Link swiped a finger across the Slate, activating the teleport. Zelda's barrier dropped.

"Link!" She screamed, but the shining light was already surrounding her, pulling her through. Taking her away and leaving Link with the usurpers. " _No! Li-"_

His name died on her lips as the world became a shimmering canvas of blue and white.

* * *

Inglis watched with gaping mouth as the girl named Zelda disappeared in long slithers of sapphire light, leaving the Champion prostrate on the floor. Link hacked and coughed, but somehow, he stood, eyes unsmiling as he looked up at Cinelgen. The arrows were still embedded in his chest, a widening bloodstain covering the left side of his dark doublet.

"What just happened!?" Cinelgen shouted down at him.

"You got me," The Champion said, his voice haggard. He winced as he reached up to snap the arrow shafts that protruded from his back. "But I couldn't let you have her."

"Where is the Slate?" Cinna demanded. The Champion shrugged, his lips curled into a smirk.

"She's gonna be _so_ mad…," he said, more to himself than anyone else. And then he doubled over, falling to his knees as his strength left him.

"Where is it!?" Cinelgen bellowed.

"The Princess has it," the Champion spat. "And now you'll never find her."

Cinelgen stormed up, wrapping his hands around the scruff of the Champion's doublet, pulling him back upright, snarling in his face. "I will have that Slate. Finding and killing one girl will be easy."

The Champion just laughed. "Nah," he countered defiantly. "Not this girl."

Inglis found himself wincing as Cinelgen brought his fist hard across the Champion's face; once, twice, three times, again and again until his anger was spent.

The Champion coughed blood, and collapsed against the floor.

"Take him to a healer!" Cinelgen barked, turning to storm from the Throne Room. "And then throw him in the cells."

* * *

Zelda opened her eyes to another wall of white, winded by the suddenness of the freezing air around her. She took a breath and gasped as it stung her lungs. White underneath, white all around, falling from the sky and landing in her hair. _Snow!_ _A blizzard!_

Against the cold she felt another thrum of pain. _Link!_ _Oh, Hylia, Link…where did you send me?_

There was a pulsating blue light around her, and Zelda realised she had landed at the entrance of a shrine. Splayed out in front of her and gathering snow, she found the Sheikah Slate and the Master Sword. Zelda gripped the Slate, trying to tap the screen and orient herself, but her bare fingers were too shaky to even turn it on. Cold pragmatism filled her. _I need to find shelter_. Squinting through the storm, Zelda spied a small wavering flame in the distance, perhaps a few hundred feet away. She clambered to her feet, the Slate and the Sword clutched close, and stumbled out into the thick snow. As she walked, she caught an iridescent and ethereal light out the corner of her eye.

The beast soared through the air, verdant body gliding effortlessly, its ancient eyes paying the world below no mind - a great green dragon, the guardian spirit Farosh.

* * *

 **Thank you as always for your lovely comments/support :)**


	10. Interlude

**A/N: Chapter 12 will be out this time next week. Apologies for the slight change in plans (damn uni!)**

* * *

 _Kass,_

 _I trust this letter finds you well. I haven't decided where to send it yet. Probably Riverside Stable, I know you like that one. Thing is, I need your advice and I need it soon, and I can't wait around for you to head back to wherever this letter ends up._

 _But what can I do? Here's the story anyway:_

 _Our warriors have started going missing for a day or so at a time. Most I've noticed is two. They usually say that they just went off to hunt, or practice their archery on some bokoblins or something. The first I noticed was Rylen, one of the younger guys. And then there was Yinli, you know him. The older falcon that advises Chief Kaneli. Well it's making me antsy. These aren't guys who should be disappearing. A few days back, I couldn't find Saki for a few hours and I was so mad... I regret what I said to her, but she's talking to me again so there's that._

 _I bet you saw the attack on Hyrule Castle. I was taking Tulin over to the Flight Range when it happened. Nearly knocked us both out of the sky. So much power, Kass, right on our doorstep too. And it looks like Medoh is camped with us for now. Saki thinks the Divine Beast is something we should be proud of, but I'm not so sure. Sometimes I still wake up with a tingling ache in my left leg where that thing shot me. I get it - Calamity Ganon is gone. Our friend Link is probably living it up in Hyrule Castle right now because of that. But the Divine Beasts were still piloted by people at some point, right? What happens when they fall into the wrong hands?_

 _I guess my point is, do you think I'm being paranoid? Because I really don't know anymore. Have you seen anything suspicious on the road?_

 _I'm going to head up to Vah Medoh tomorrow to make sure it isn't awake. I just need to know. And if there are some rats in the village, I'll find them. I just hope I have the time._

 _Speaking of Link, let me know if you see him, or just tell him to pay us a visit. Kid won the fight of the century - I'll be damned if I don't hear about it._

 _Fly well,_

 _Teba_

* * *

Inglis of Akkala dipped his face once again into the basin in his sleeping cell, the freezing water dispersing the last of his morning drowsiness. He raised his head to peer into the small mirror before him, and rubbed his eyes dry with the backs of his hands.

 _I don't much like it here._

It was his first thought of the day - of most days now, really. Hyrule Castle was not a friendly place, nor a terribly comfortable one. An oozing, poisonous corruption clung to almost every wing of the palace, and what hadn't been outright destroyed by the Calamity was crumbling and dilapidated. The Successors had attempted repairs to the structure, but they lacked the resources - or indeed the skill - needed to make any real progress. _That is the way of things, when your numbers are made up of outcasts, bandits, former assassins, and fools._

Inglis wasn't sure which of the four he fit best. He had grown up in Akkala, in a tiny village not far from the stables. His father had tilled the fields with his pockmarked hands and had sung chanting hymns by the hearth fire. His mother had hands ever raw and tinged pink, and for as long as Inglis could remember her, her hair had been pushing grey. They had lived in a hut with only one room and a pantry that was rarely full. Maybe it had been a hard life, but Inglis had been content, in a simple and ignorant way.

And then at the age of sixteen, his family's hut was raided by a group of newly-bladed Yiga. The clan members had sought blood and conquest, and of course found it among the defenseless. Inglis had fought tenaciously, wielding little more than a knife, and a desperate, flailing desire to live; but the Yiga cut him down all the same, before putting the torch to the entire village.

That was where Cinelgen had found him: bleeding out in the rain, the hut up in smoke and his parents both slaughtered, their necks smiling wide and red. Cinna patched Inglis up, bound his wounds, and took him to the stables to recuperate. He taught Inglis to swallow his grief and turn it into strength, the better to one day help him destroy the clan that had razed the village to the ground. A year and a half Inglis and Cinna spent on the road after that day, together with Cinnna's band of outcasts. Inglis wasn't sure what to make of the Gerudo male-he never hid what he was, yet somehow Cinna's heritage went completely ignored. Innkeepers and merchants gave Cinna nervous sideways looks, but did not turn down his coin. It was the Yiga weapon - the painted Duplex bow capable of loosing two arrows simultaneously - that made them skittish. Cinna had claimed to have stolen it, but Inglis knew the truth.

Almost two years ago it was now, Inglis realised, two years since the day that Cinna had saved him. Two years of nights under the stars, jokes while they walked, and sword practice by dusk. _"My dear Inglis!"_ Cinna would laugh after their practice, cuffing him on the back with a lung-thumping palm. _"Who could ask for a better squire?"_

Inglis had worshipped Cinna in those days, awestruck that a Gerudo male outcast - and a Yiga _deserter_ \- could walk through the world with such confidence and ease.

But that was then. Before the _Champion_ , the one they called Link. Cinelgen had heard of the strange young Hylian with the ancient Slate, and he had _changed_. He was beset by a desire, apparently face-to-face with his destiny, and had become consumed with the single-minded purpose of finding Link and the Slate that he carried. When Inglis had questioned why Cinna was so set upon this new path, his friend claimed that it had been his path all along.

"I just failed to see it, Inglis," Cinelgen had explained. And then he had sent Inglis to the Karusa Valley, to join the Yiga, and work to destroy them from within. "I know a woman there - Milagre. She is their Secretary. She will help you."

And now they were here, in the decaying Hyrule Castle, with an army, and hostages, and enemies. No longer boys at play but men at war. Still, their new regime didn't quite suit Inglis yet.

Absentmindedly, Inglis rubbed at the burning sensation in his arm where the Princess had blasted him. _Zelda was her name. Mila called her a mage, and she hit me with some bolt made from sorcery._ Thankfully, the bolt had only glanced off his arm, and strangely the wound was more akin to a burn than a scrape. Inglis shuddered when he recalled the glowing mark on that the girl's hand, and was secretly glad that she was gone. Sighing and shivering from the morning chill, he left his cell in search of breakfast.

Inlis met Cinelgen in the Dining Hall; the Yiga defector was picking the meat off some boiled heron drumsticks, and barely raised his eyes from his meal when Inglis entered the room. Milagre was with him at the table, sharing the meal - the sight of her with Cinna sent a wave of jealousy through Inglis's young veins.

"Aye, morning Cinna," Inglis greeted his friend as he ducked his head under a collapsed doorframe to enter the room. Lips pursing, he added: "Milagre."

His companions raised their heads in unison when they saw him; their terse, upward nods the only acknowledgement of his presence.

"Have you checked on the Champion this morning, Inglis?" Cinelgen inquired as he lazily gnawed on a bone. There had been a feast the night prior and judging by the array of plates and cups strewn about the table, the leftovers were plentiful. In his sour mood, Milagre and Cinna seemed like vultures on carrion, breaking their fast on the remainders of the feast.

"No - should 'ave I?" Inglis hovered behind Milagre's chair, feeling strangely unwelcome. He was the baby of the trio; the sweet young one, the squire. And when knights want to dine they never care to look upon the faces of those below them.

 _Cinna celebrates now, throwing a feast and indulging half the Castle with hangovers_ , Inglis pondered, a little sourly. _Yet yesterday morning he had called the trap a failure._ Cinna was hard to read these days - a cipher of a man with a solution as rare as he was. Was he gloating like a fool, or was he just putting on a show?

Milagre turned in her chair to face him, chocolate hair framing her freckled cheeks. "You're already up, you may as well duck in to see him." She smiled sweetly.

"Of course," Inglis nodded, feeling like an abandoned bone discarded under a table. Ignoring his hunger, he retraced his steps out of the dining hall.

As he trudged through the ruined hallways of the Castle, his thoughts turned towards the seemingly unbreakable will of their prisoner. Inglis had brought Link to the healer the morning prior as Cinelgen had ordered, to have the arrows intended for the mageling girl removed. And even after a beating and two arrows to the chest, the Champion had clambered again to his feet to follow willingly, if a little slowly.

The only healer in the castle had been Coya, a Yiga acolyte; _former_ Yiga, Inglis reminded himself. Cinelgen had destroyed the order in a massacre as swift and unexpected as he was. The acolyte's hands had been wobbly as he'd patched up Link's wounds, and he'd muttered through fleshy lips that Link was lucky not to have caught the arrows with his heart. As Coya worked, the Champion barely winced, and every time he met Inglis's gaze, he had given him nothing more than a contemptuous grin. Bigger men, stronger men, would have cried and gnashed their teeth at the pain. But not the Champion - even when Coya clumsily wrenched the arrows free - all Inglis saw on Link's face was a muted, distant smile. As though he had been… _proud_ to have been captured.

 _More like he's proud to have spirited that girl away._

Inglis made it to the damp and dreary Lockup, and hailed Link with a cold, "Aye, prisoner," as he approached his cell, not wanting to give him the dignity of a name. The Champion was propped up against the back wall of the cell, his head resting limply against the bricks. When his blue eyes lolled open, his breathing hitched as if he had been seized by a some terrible nightmare and was only just coming to. But the nightmare was not over, it seemed; soon Link was muttering feverishly to himself, fingers scrabbling against the floor of his cell, seeking purchase, seeking strength. "What did I say… what did I do… tell me, tell me..."

Inglis turned to one of the guards, frowning. "How long has he been like this?"

"All night, and all morning too," the guard replied. "Mumbling questions and groaning to himself."

"Open his cell, and get behind me," Inglis commanded, glad to at least be higher in station than _someone_ at this Castle. The guards obeyed, and soon Inglis was kneeling before Link, whose muttering had not stopped.

"Tell me, Zel… what did I say… what did I say..."

His face was swollen and badly bruised from Cinelgen's beating, the entire left side of his face overtaken by ugly pools of purple and yellow. His lips were cracked and tinged blue, drained of their colour by the cold. Inglis knew the tattered old shirt that Link had been given to replace his ruined doublet would not be warm enough for the winter, but there was little else to spare. Gingerly, he pulled open the left side of the shirt to examine Link's wounds, and was struck by a foul, acrid smell. _They're festering. He could be dead within weeks._

Link's muttering continued. "What did I do..."

"You angered Cinelgen," Inglis answered, though he guessed his words went unheard. "Got yourself locked up in this hole, that's what you did. The _worst_ place in the world."

For a moment, Link's eyes met his, and in the watery pools of blue Inglis saw a flash of clarity - a calmness - that betrayed a full understanding of the situation. _I know_ , his eyes said. _But you're here too._

"Don't anger him again," Inglis warned. Link's only reply was a slow blink and a weak, woozy smile.

Inglis sighed. He rose from the cell, pausing to instruct the guards to inform him if Link's condition worsened. In the cell across from Link, he spied the Zoran woman. She was weeping softly, but paid him no mind.

So much suffering, discomfort, and malice. It reminded Inglis of home, and not in a good way.

Climbing the crumbling stairs and makeshift haphazard walkways nailed into the side of Hyrule Castle, Inglis set out for the Throne Room to report to Cinna. There he found the Chief sitting on his red velvet throne, his painted Duplex Bow within reach, and a soft pink Rito woman kneeling before him. Milagre was standing guard by the door, and Inglis silently joined her. He smiled at the young woman, and she winked back, casual enough to seem inconspicuous, but coy enough to set Inglis's blood pumping.

"Tell my people at Lake Totori to look for a young Hylian woman, long blonde hair, carrying a Sheikah Slate, and a sword, and a crossbow," Cinna bellowed, his voice bouncing off the chamber walls. It was a voice he put on for such meetings, Inglis knew - to make himself sound like a ruler. "She has a mark on her right hand, just like the crest you see behind me. She is a mage, a powerful one. I want her dead, and I want that Beast."

"Of course, my lord. Our work will continue," the Rito acknowledged, slender neck craned loftily up to the throne. "And if I may take my leave, sir; I must return home by evenfall."

Cinna nodded, waving an idle hand in her direction. "I'm not fond of waiting," was all he said, his eyes now focused past the Rito - on Inglis himself. Dismissed, the Rito woman bowed her head, and stood to leave the throne room, as Inglis shifted his gaze to the leader of the Successors.

Inglis knew those green eyes well. But up on that throne, commandeering an army and seeking to control a kingdom, Cinelgen's presence seemed larger than his physical self. Larger than any man should be. Cinelgen shifted in the throne, reaching down to adjust his doublet. While Cinna's attention was momentarily elsewhere, Inglis felt Milagre wrap her pinky finger around his own. She let go the moment Cinna raised his eyes.

Ayu, a self-assured Gerudo woman who wore no neckerchief, was also waiting in the wings for an audience. She was the one responsible for kidnapping the Zoran Ambassador - the one to apparently lay the trap for Link and Zelda.

" _Sav'otta, von Cinelgen_ ," she hailed in the Gerudo tongue, sauntering into the centre of the room. Her heels tapped loudly against the wooden planks where the floor had been repaired, her gait slow and confident. "And what a fine morning it is."

"You need not speak that language to me," Cinelgen returned, face drawn. "We are not Gerudo here."

"Of course," Ayu nodded, slightly taken aback. Inglis saw her wobble on the planks as she shifted her weight. "Why distinguish ourselves? Is that not your goal? To unite us all?"

Cinelgen ignored her posturing. "What do you want, Ayu?"

Ayu hesitated, considering her words. Beside him, Inglis sensed Milagre shifting on the balls of her feet. She was passing her spear between her hands. Inglis clenched his fists in apprehension. _Something's about to happen._

"I want to know what happens next. I killed the Zora king. I brought you the Ambassador, and now you have the Champion." The agitation in Ayu's low voice was clear, though Inglis could hear her straining to remain polite. "And yet I've been ignored. It's taken me two days just to gain an audience with you in this Castle."

Cinelgen regarded her with a withdrawn, almost bored look, his slight frown hinting at displeasure - as he would look upon a lowly fly that had landed on his food. "You believe you deserve a reward?" he asked calmly.

"Recognition, _von Cinelgen_ ," Ayu answered. Cinelgen's jaw clenched as she slipped into the Gerudo tongue once more. He narrowed his eyes, his mild displeasure turning to disgust.

"The spy I placed among the Zora envoy - the one who freed you from your captivity - he tells me that you _confessed_ to the Gerudo, telling them of your actions against the Zora. And not only that, you gave them my _name_. You told them who was _really_ responsible for the attack on the Zora. Do you want recognition for that?"

"I had no choice! That… that stupid _vissa_ Buliara would have killed me. She saw it all anyway. What does it matter?"

"What does it matter!?" Cinelgen snarled. "That _bitch,_ as you call her, is the most trusted advisor of the Chief of the Gerudo! And now she knows we led the attack!"

"She has no proof beyond her word!" Ayu countered. "What will one attack matter when all of Hyrule is at war? I led the Champion here! He and that Hylian girl _knew_ you had taken the Castle, so I led them here! You cannot deny me that!"

"Yes, you took your monumental mistake and turned it into an opportunity." For a moment, Cinelgen seemed to relent, but then he leapt to the offensive. "You almost made us look like fools before the Rito, and _I_ prevented that by claiming your stupidity was a _trap_. I can no longer trust you, and I can no longer risk letting your tongue wag again."

"It will not, I assure you."

Cinelgen took a deep breath, and reached for his Duplex bow. Casually, fingers working the string as he spoke, he nocked two arrows into the bow. "I am not willing to take that risk."

Inglis was not quick enough to look away. Swift and sudden, Cinelgen loosed the arrows towards Ayu. The first found her chest, and the second her neck.

Hushed gasps filled the throne room, rolling through the circular chamber like a wave against the shore. Ayu choked and spluttered, her lips mouthing silent words of fury and shock, and then she collapsed forward. The gasps and whispers began to die with her. Inglis gaped helplessly at the dying woman, caught between the twin feelings of pity and relief.

Blood had begun slowly pooling around the Gerudo woman, seeping through the gaps in the wood and dripping into the deep cavern below. Cinelgen called for someone to take the body away. Thankfully there were two Yiga stewards ( _former_ Yiga, Inglis caught himself again) in the wings who were eager to stay on Cinelgen's good side. They ducked across the planks, and began unceremoniously dragging Ayu away. With the conflict in the throne room dead and all tasks seen to, Inglis felt useless, and he slipped into Milagre's shadow.

The deed done, Cinelgen decided that he was done giving audience for the day, announcing to those remaining in the throne room that he wanted them out of his sight. Even if there had been others waiting for an audience, Inglis privately thought it unlikely that they'd show themselves now.

Milagre silently breezed out of the room, and Inglis filed out after her. He followed her down the stone steps to the courtyard beyond the throne room, and then to the left as they made for the East Passage.

"Are you okay?" Inglis asked as they walked. "That was…a bit intense."

Milagre just shrugged. "Cinna and I agreed that it was necessary."

Inglis furrowed his brow, unsure in his defiance: "Was it?"

They stopped by one of the ruined Gatehouses. The wind was whistling through the crumbling bricks, singing the song of the Castle's destruction. Milagre placed a warm hand on his arm. "Sweet Inglis," she said softly. "Don't you trust him?"

"Of course I do," Inglis said defensively. _Perhaps not as much as you, though_. Mila had known Cinna much longer than Inglis had, after all. The two had been Yiga stewards together, Inglis recalled, and then Acolytes, and had even become bladed in the same year, shortly before Cinna had run away. _How much more have you been to each other?_ Inglis thought bitterly.

Mila gave his arm a squeeze. "Then you don't need to worry. Cinna is in control."

"I know that," Inglis said firmly. "I just didn't expect this much.…"

Mila anticipated his concern. "Violence? Inglis. That is just the way of things now." She gave him a warm, placating smile. "Why don't you go talk to him? You know Cinna. He'll want someone to tell him he did the right thing, and you're his friend."

Inglis nodded, conceding. Squires didn't argue with their knights.

Milagre's eyes passed briefly up towards the throne room. Seeing that they were not being watched, she gave Inglis a quick kiss. It almost was enough to dissolve his lingering anxiety; to put right the worry in his mind. Inglis caught her, and kissed her back, but Mila wriggled from his grip and continued down the path.

"Go talk to Cinna," she called over her shoulder. "Everything is going to be fine."

After he watched Mila go, Inglis begrudgingly turned back towards the throne room, readying himself to speak with his friend who had so suddenly become a king.

* * *

Teba rose before sunrise, as he did every morning. The Rito warrior rolled swiftly and purposefully out of his bed, planting his talons against the wooden floor of his hut, and allowed himself a single sleepy moment to yawn and stretch. And then the day began.

Saki was murmuring in her sleep. "Don't push him too hard…" and then she rolled over, soft pink feathers shifting gently. Teba ran his wingtips across her face, and gave her a quick peck before going to wake their son.

Tulin was almost twelve now. He would hit his growth spurt soon - or at least Teba hoped. But the boy had always been small, even for a fledgeling, and he showed no great skill at archery or flying. He was perfectly average - a normal child. Hardly what the son of a Rito Warrior should be. And Teba couldn't truly admit how much that bothered him.

Teba and Tulin flew together to the Flight Range, as they did every morning. In the east, the sun was just beginning to rise, its warm rays cutting through the powdery morning snow. Winter's Welcome was soon, perhaps only a few days away. In his hollow bones Teba knew it would be a long one; this year's autumn had been short and the summer long. All the more reason to train harder - to push Tulin to be the warrior he was born to be, and to solve the mystery that plagued Teba and robbed him of his sleep.

 _Where are they going? Why do they keep disappearing?_

First it was Rylen, and then Yinli, and now countless other Rito - here one day and gone the next, and then here again. Even Saki had given Teba reason to worry. Oh, I was just visiting the Stables, she'd said. I'm sorry I worried you.

Now Yinli hadn't returned, and his sons were squabbling like crows over his possessions. Who will get his armour? Who will take the family bow - one of Falcon make, modified to fire three arrows at once? Not that it mattered; the Falcon bow and the armour had disappeared with the old bird. Yinli might not even be dead, yet his sons were circling his soul as though they were lowly vultures. Teba wondered what, if anything, he had to pass on to Tulin. A bow maybe, but would the his son ever have any true use for it?

"We'll start with stationary drills, and then move on to aerials, do you understand?" Teba instructed Tulin as they neared the Flight Range. Tulin was gazing at the glowing Shrine on the south side of the range canyon.

 _"Tulin!"_

"Y-yes, Father," the boy stammered, flapping his wings faster to catch up.

"You need to focus. Tell me, what are we doing today?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The fledgeling gave the Shrine another chancing glance. "I just noticed that there are footprints leading from the Shrine."

 _Footprints?_ That gave Teba pause. He usually prided himself on being observant of his surroundings - the change in the wind, the rustling of the trees, the movements of his brethren to and from Lake Totori. But he hadn't noticed the footprints as his son had.

Teba followed Tulin's line of down sight to the Shrine; sure enough, a trail of footprints that was nearly obscured by the new snow led from the Shrine over to the Flight Range. The tracks appeared to be muddled halfway through, as though their maker had stumbled towards the range canyon.

Teba scowled, feeling his feathers ruffle. "Stay close," he instructed, tone clipped. Tulin adjusted his flight path, angling into his father's slipstream. They pressed on towards the Flight Range.

Teba had expected to find another one of his kind at the Range, even though the footprints Tulin had spied did not look Rito-made. Hylians - or indeed any of the other races - were rarely found in Hebra. The cold kept them away. And Hebra was as brutal as it was beautiful; Teba maintained the fire at the Range such that it burned around the clock for that very reason. Many a time before he had found a weary traveller by its side.

He had not expected to find such an _unprepared_ traveller, whose attire was completely unsuitable for the mountain climate. The girl was curled by the low fire, her nose and the fingers of her ungloved right hand frosted over with the first signs of frostbite. Her blonde hair was coiled in a long braid, and her garb - plain grey Hylian clothes - seemed barely warm enough for the mountains. And strangest of all, she carried nothing on her person except a small, bow-like contraption that was hooked to her belt. The girl's breathing was shallow, but she was alive.

Teba knelt by the fire while Tulin looked on apprehensively. "Is she okay?" his son asked.

"No." Teba swept away the accumulated ash and threw some new logs onto the crackling embers. "Look closely. Tell me what you see."

Tulin waddled slowly over to the Hylian and stood over her, his wide yellow eyes taking stock.

"Uhm… her nose, and her fingers. She has first-degree frostbite."

The fire was beginning to rise, the new logs catching flame with some assistance from a gentle breeze stirred by Teba's wingtips. He allowed himself a moment to enjoy its warmth, and then returned to stoking the flames.

"A simple observation. Look further."

"She's lost her right glove. Her left hand is gloved, so… And she scraped her knee, and her face. She fell. Maybe that's when she lost her glove."

"Potentially. Anything else?"

The girl began to stir feebly as Tulin spoke. "Father! Her right hand! It… it's glowing?"

"What? That isn't it." Teba's attention was drawn from the fire. But his son was right; there on her right hand - multiple dimly-glowing triangles coming together to form a larger one. Another thing Teba had not noticed. _Getting sloppy_ , he thought. The girl's eyes fluttered open.

"Warm yourself up, girl," Teba instructed. "You've been hurt, but we cannot move you to Rito Stables just yet."

"Ri-Rito...," the girl croaked. "Rito Stables?"

"Yes. On the other side of the lake," Teba answered. "I'm guessing that's where you came from."

The girl did not reply, or even seem to understand his words. _Still drowsy; maybe addled from the cold. Let her wake up first._ Teba watched as she held her hands out towards the flames, and sucked in air through her teeth. Tulin was stood beside her, gawking at her with unblinking eyes. It wasn't polite, but Tulin so rarely saw Hylians. _And teaching the boy manners is Saki's job, not mine._

"It'll hurt to warm up, and you'll blister," Teba told the girl. "But it could have been worse. You got a reason for not wearing gloves up _here_ of all places?"

The girl opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. She pulled her right sleeve down over her hand, covering the glowing symbol. _A mage_ , Teba noted. _Never a good thing._

Tulin had grown bored of staring, and made his way over to his storage chest to retrieve his training bow. It was a simple weapon, not a mechanical one like the traditional Rito bows - he didn't yet have the strength for the draw weight. Teba caught his gaze and gave him a short, surreptitious shake of the head. _Not now. No time._ Tulin sulkily lowered the bow, and returned it to the chest. When Teba returned his attention to the girl, she had dozed off once again.

"Time to take you home then," he grumbled under his breath, and knelt to scoop her into his wings. She was surprisingly light; small even for a Hylian. Teba bundled her in close to his chest. He could not fly with her in his grip, and the walk back to Rito Stables would not be short. It would do the girl no good for her frostbite to get any worse. Judging by how ill-equipped she was for this place, he guessed she was already in enough trouble as it was. Mentally deliberating the quickest way back to the stables on foot, Teba stepped out into the snow.

"Tulin, return to the village on your own," he commanded, addressing his son over his shoulder.

"Yes, Father," Tulin called back, and with some clumsiness, he took wing and disappeared into the falling morning snow. Teba watched his son with some trepidation. _Flight should come easier to him at this age_ , he brooded. Teba had been seven when he first took a bow to the air. Tulin hadn't managed that until he was almost ten.

Teba exhaled, reorienting his focus. He needed to move quickly, and could not busy himself with intrusive thoughts, as important as his son's development was.

The girl shivered as he walked to the Stables, but she did not rouse. Her breathing was slow and shallow, though the light from her hand did not dim. Teba examined it as he walked - three triangles together making up a fourth, as gold as the sun. He felt he'd seen them somewhere before… on a tunic, or on the hilt of a weapon? He knew Hylian clothes tended to favour geometric patterns, sometimes triangles, but not always...

 _My memory used to be better_ , Teba reflected. _Five years ago I'd have recognised it immediately._

Worry was seeping into bones, as deep and as persistent as the morning chill. Perhaps this girl was connected to the disappearances. Perhaps she was a _plant_. How else would anyone, let alone a little Hylian woman, make it all the way to the Flight Range with no provisions and no armour? She had come from the Shrine, hadn't she? Teba had only met one person capable of travelling using those Shrines: the Champion-descendant named Link. Perhaps this girl knew him.

Realisation struck him like lightning. The _Sword_. That's where he had seen the symbol - on the golden scabbard of the sword that Link had carried. The one with the winged crossguard and the diamond hilt. Teba never forgot a good weapon.

This girl must know him then - though Teba had not found a Sheikah Slate on her. So how did she reach the Shrine?

 _Who_ are _you?_ He stared down at the sleeping girl as he walked, squinting down at her soft face.

At last the horsehead effigy of the Rito Stables came into view; they were not far now. And still the girl had not woken. A bad sign. Teba increased his pace, taking stock of his weariness and pausing to roll his shoulders and shake out the ache in his wings. Even on a morning this cold and snowed under, the Stable was abuzz with activity. Horses neighed and stomped their hooves against the frosted straw; the smoke of a handful of fires and cooking pots wafted lazily into the sky, and travellers and stable hands alike moved purposefully around the stable tent. And lilting over the noise, strangely foreign against the domestic sounds - a soft and reedy waltz was being played on an accordion.

 _Kass_ , Teba thought warmly. _He's returned._

Re-adjusting his hold on the girl, Teba approached the bard.

The song stopped. "Teba? What are you doing?" The bard was eyeing him with confused suspicion, his gaze flitting between Teba and the girl.

"Good morning to you too, Kass," Teba drawled. He looked down at the Hylian in his wings and then back to Kass. WIth a short shrug: "She's alright, just a little frostbitten. Found her at the Range."

Kass returned to his song, playing a little softer as they conversed. "Very kind of you to bring her here."

"Not the first I've found. But I'm not sure what to make of her," Teba admitted, his voice low. He was glad to have Kass' accordion to mask his words. "She's got nothing on her, except a crossbow, and she's a mage by the looks of it."

"Oh?" The bard's eyes widened. "A mage? What makes you so sure?"

Teba nodded down to the girl hands, which were crossed at her chest. "The mark on her hand."

Kass leaned in, squinting as he assessed the girl. And then his face dropped, his beak hanging open, and Teba saw the his entire body tense. His music stopped again.

"That _symbol_...," Kass murmured. And then he suddenly shouldered his accordion, and held out his wings.

"Teba. We cannot leave her here," he said urgently. "Give her to me."

Teba drew back, wrapping his wings tighter about the girl. "Why? Who is she?"

"Someone very special, my friend." Kass frowned. "That she is here, in this state, does not bode well for anyone."

"Well, wonderful," Teba grumbled, and he gingerly handed the girl into Kass' wings. She finally stirred then, her round green eyes opening slowly.

"Where… where am I?" she murmured.

"Safe," Kass told the girl, drawing her close against the feathers of his chest. He took a step towards Teba, and spoke in a harsh whisper. "Listen to me. Tell no one how you found her. I met her on my travels, and took her in as my student. We were caught in a storm and she was frostbitten."

"You got my letter, didn't you?" Teba asked impatiently. He never liked not being in on a plan. "Do you think it has something to do with-?"

Kass nodded curtly. "I'm certain. We will talk on this later. Return to the Range for now. I will take care of her."

Teba watched as Kass carried the Hylian girl towards Rito Village. He took a deep breath, steadying himself, letting his rational side take over. _It's just one girl._ Yet Kass, despite being a bard, was not one for melodrama. Teba trusted his friend, and that trust left a lump in his throat.

He scowled; worry was a weakness.

Teba took one more moment of rest, and then he launched himself skyward, flying northwest across Lake Totori to return to the Flight Range as he knew he should. As he would have, had the morning been a normal one, and not the ominous herald of an uncertain and harsh winter that Teba knew it was.


	11. Decision

A/N: Apologies for just missing my deadline again everyone! Sadly Ch 13 will likely take two weeks due to my exams. Thank you as always for your reviews/patience/support.

 **Announcement: I am looking for a new beta reader. Please message me if interested.**

* * *

Part Three: Detention

* * *

 _Sister,_

 _Have you seen Wolf or Sparrow?_

 _Your letter said they would be arriving in Hateno a month ago. But no sign._

 _House is empty. Townsfolk know nothing. That, or Symin really_ is _that inept._

 _Zora and Gerudo races apparently at war? Symin heard about it in town. No one leaving or entering Zora's Domain or Gerudo Town. We_ need _luminous stone at the Lab, but all trade has stopped._

 _No word from Robbie. Sent him several letters._

 _Apologies for sending encoded letter. Tried to keep it brief. Cannot be too safe._

 _Write back!_

 _Purah_

* * *

 _Dear Sister,_

 _I have neither seen, nor heard anything._

 _Our wait continues. I have faith that whatever has happened, the children will persevere._

 _You sent me the unencoded letter, by the way. I find myself unsurprised._

 _Impa_

* * *

 _I was thinking… this reminds me of the time we first met._

Link's captors did not bind him, but they may as well have. The fever left him suspended between agony and ecstasy, between dream and memory, between fondness and regret.

He could feel it all; the dirt under his fingernails, the sting where he had scratched too hard and made his fingers bleed, the throb in his chest as incessant and painful as the voices that swarmed his mind.

 _You've hurt yourself again. Was it the climb?_

 _Scrabble scrabble._ The voices clawed at the inside of his skull. In a moment of clarity, Link raised a hand to his chest. It hurt so much that he felt separate from from it - as if annexed from his own flesh. Link spoke the Princess's name, and called upon her power. But nothing happened.

 _So I really am just a failure._

Inglis's brown eyes were before him then, his thin mouth scowling at the wounds. "You got yourself locked in this hole," he said. That wasn't strictly true, Link had wanted to tell him. A quick denial - you _threw me in here._ I _did nothing._ But silence was too easy. And then Inglis was gone.

 _You were such a reckless child._

Link wanted to scream. He'd been alone with nothing but the pain, the guards, and the memories - the faded wisps of the past that wafted through his fingers like smoke.

 _The Hero and the Princess, remember?_

Fingers scratching against the ground. The air… frozen. Winter? How could it be winter already? Last week it had been summer, the grass a verdant green, and the sun burning bright above Hyrule Field, yielding to the right hand of a goddess painted in gold and white…

"Zelda." Her name fell from his lips. He'd sent her away; he could grasp that much. He'd been bundled in her arms, bleeding out on the stone floor, and somewhere through his painful haze it had occurred to him just how strange it was that Yinli, a Rito advisor, would be among the bandits. He remembered thinking: _why would an advisor tarry with outlaws? Has something happened at Lake Totori? A schism? A coup?_

They'd been wayward thoughts, as though there wasn't anything else more pressing going on around him at the time. Link's lips curled into a smile as he recalled gazing upon the vast and blazing shield of light that Zelda had created during their encounter with Cinelgen in the throne room.

In that moment he had realised just how _powerful_ she was - formidable, even. Hadn't she knocked him on his feet when they'd sparred in Gerudo Town? Hadn't she made quick work of their Yiga assailant at the tree by the fork, and of the Hylian drunkard in Hyrule Castle Library? Even the muscled and well-built Inglis couldn't keep her down when the two had fought.

Yinli's presence at the Castle had made him sure of it; there was something there to be investigated in Hebra - a thread to be pulled to unravel the meshwork of Cinelgen's plans. Perhaps with the Sword and the Slate, Zelda could find that thread. She'd have to. And in her own words, there are choices we make when we have no choice at all.

And so Link had sent Zelda to Hebra, and hoped - no, _chose_ to believe that - she could continue their work alone. That she could heal the Divine Beasts without him, and bring about the peace that Hyrule so needed.

Even if it hurt to be without her. Even after everything that happened. Even if there was a chance he'd sent her to her death in the frozen mountains.

No - he'd know. If she was… he'd just know.

Had he made a mistake, sending her to Hebra? Anywhere would be better than the Castle, surely.

 _I'm okay if you're okay._

It was raining. _Patter patter_ against the mossy brick of the Lockup. Raining again, or raining still? The last time it had rained he'd kissed a Princess. Maybe more than once. Rain was good, Link decided.

It was raining when he'd held her too, he remembered. On the muddy path, among the trees. Zelda had fallen into his arms, weeping, and he remembered realising how small she was. Before then she'd been a tower; a soul unassailable. But when he held her she had become… just a person. Someone young, and someone lost - _just like me_. Duty had compelled him to die for her if need be; but then she had become _real_ and he would have died for her no matter who they were, or what they were to each other.

 _Would I still? Am I still her knight?_

The sounds of barked orders and the accompanying slam of a cell door brought Link reluctantly back to the present. A tall Hylian guard was muscling the Zoran Ambassador Larella back to her cell. She'd been taken away, Link recalled. And now here she was, returned, like a book on a shelf.

"No need to shove," Larella snapped at the guard after he threw her into the cell opposite Link's.

Slighted, seething, the guard stormed into the cell and pushed the Ambassador up against the mossy wall. His hand seized her neck, and the other brought a dagger to the hollow under her chin.

"I'll do as I like, _mackerel_ ," the guard spat in her face. "Maybe I oughtta find out what the Chief likes so much about you."

"You do that-" Larella wheezed against the weight of his hand. "And he'll put you down like the dogs... the dogs you Hylians are so fond of."

A blur of movement. Link wasn't lucid enough to parse it out, but heard the guard grunt and Larella yelp, and watched as the Ambassador was thrown against the floor of her cell. The tussle had left a cut against her neck where the guard's knife had been, and a thin line of glistening red blood was seeping down towards her collarbone.

Shaken, incriminated, guard backed slowly away from the cell, passing a threatening look towards Link. _You speak and you'll get the same_ , his harrowed eyes said, and then he fled. Moment of defiance over, Larella huddled against the wall of her cell, hands gingerly testing her tender neck. Link wanted to offer to help - to heal her - but couldn't bring himself to break another promise. Silence fell in the Lockup once more, and the voices returned.

 _You promised that you would not forget her._

Another memory, another princess. The last midsummer of his youth he had hiked up to the Domain with his heart in his throat, caught between a need to see the Zoran Princess again, and the gripping fear of what he might do to embarrass himself when he did.

 _You're taller, again!_ Mipha had laughed when she met him on the rocks of a plateau near the Domain. _I'll never understand it_. They had been alone on the bluffs, the luminous rocks around them swathed in amber hues of the late afternoon. Mipha had healed him then, her crimson-webbed hand held above his own, the soft light taking away a graze on his palm. _You climbed too fast_ , she'd scolded gently. _I wanted to see you_ , he'd said without thinking. And when the healing was done, Link had seized Mipha's hand before she could pull away, bringing it to his lips…

 _You know… Perhaps we could spend some time together. Maybe you could spend the summer here? Like you used to…_

Princesses, princesses - Link had known too many, and he'd only known two. He felt like an interloper, a doppelgänger; he'd stolen the life of one princess, and stolen the love of another.

 _Mipha, before you go…_

Scrabbling at the floor again. More throbbing pain. Why couldn't he make it _stop_? Link gripped at his chest, whispering Mipha's name like a prayer, begging for her power to flow. But it would not, and when Link opened his eyes he saw Mipha's ethereal form before him, her shining yellow eyes watching patiently.

… _I've been thinking about what you said._

The Zora Princess had begun to cry - large wet tears streaking down her cheeks, and pooling in her long-fingered hands. Link wanted to crawl over to her, to be there with her, reassure her. But she was just out of reach, and he could not summon the strength. Defeated, he tipped his head back against the mossy wall of his cell, and waited for the illusion to pass.

"I made you like this, didn't I, Mipha?" he asked the weeping princess. "But… what did I do? I don't remember. I _can't_ remember…"

The crying suddenly stopped, and when Link blinked, Mipha was gone. It was Larella's soft voice that lilted through the bars of their prison.

"P-pardon?"

By the fragile tone of her voice and the wet gleam of her cheeks, Link realised that it had been the Ambassador who was weeping.

A second round of shouts echoed through the cells of the Lockup.

"Why didn't you tell us, Inglis!?" A woman's voice, frantic and accusatory. "He's no use to us _dead_!"

Milagre. That was her name; she didn't seem to like Link and Zelda very much, given the number of times she had tried to kill them. The Yiga woman stormed into Link's cell once a guard had unlocked it, and proceeded to tear open his shirt. _Hmm._ _Perhaps she_ does _like you._

"Did you hear what I said!?" She was scowling at him. "Are. You. In. Pain?"

Link glared at her. _Of course I am._ Inglis was hovering behind them.

"You won't get anything from him, not 'sides muttering, Mila," Inglis advised. Milagre observed Link's festering wounds a second time, and shook her head, the waves in her hair swaying.

She rose sharply, and abruptly yanked Link to his feet by his ragged collar. Meanwhile the Princess was still whispering into his ear;

 _If anyone ever tries to do you harm..._

"We need to get him to Cinna. Get his wounds treated properly," Milagre was saying. "Chief won't be happy that you let him get this bad, Inglis."

 _No matter when, or how bad the wound_.

"I'm not a doctor, Mila," Inglis protested.

"Anyone would have noticed that he was _dying_ ,"

Link felt his legs moving, but wasn't sure who was giving them the orders. Then he was slipping in Milagre's grip, stumbling back towards the ground.

"Inglis - help me with him!"

Begrudgingly, Inglis went to Link's side, throwing Link's arm over his neck and shouldering the older Hylian's weight.

"Just because I'm not some Gerudo mastermind..." he grumbled.

"We do _not_ have time for this."

Link couldn't stop himself from grinning. He'd heard this argument before. "Honeymooners, are you?" he quipped through his delirium.

There came no answer beyond an exasperated huff from Milagre.

Link bit his lip, and remained silent as the pair dragged him through the tunnels of Hyrule Castle.

* * *

It was fresh bandages and coarser bee honey applied to his wounds that healed them in the end. Link didn't know exactly why Mipha's power had left him, he could make a guess; healing required a certain peacefulness of spirit, and an understanding of the pain. Link had neither.

Cinelgen himself re-dressed the wounds, but not before banishing Coya, Milagre, and Inglis from the infirmary. He was apparently a skilled healer himself - _on account of his years on the road and on the run,_ according to Inglis - but was still none too pleased to be taken from his breakfast to play nurse to his own prisoner.

"Fools!" he muttered after his subordinates were gone. "I'm surrounded by fools."

Link felt no need to argue.

The Gerudo sat opposite from him, a tray of wet bandages, honey, and soaking cloths balanced on his lap. His stern brows were furrowed as he worked, and Link noticed for the first time that Cinelgen's face was pockmarked and scarred. _Who were you?_ Link wondered, becoming curiously aware of the faint smell of cinnamon. _Before you became the Chief?_

There were two guards in the room with them, as expected. On any other day he could have taken on all three; planning and executing the attack would be as familiar and natural as flexing a muscle.

But not today; not while his chest burned and not while the fever kept him in a permanent, pervasive haze. It would be weeks at least before he would be strong enough to attempt an escape - _if_ Cinelgen would let him grow strong enough.

"We have heard many things about you, Link," the Gerudo said as he dipped a soaking cloth into the honey on his tray. "How you freed the Divine Beasts from Ganon. The Sheikah Slate that you once carried. Your propensity for handiwork, for weapon craft, your _unbreakable spirit_."

The soaking cloth stung fiercely against Link's bare skin, and he bit his lip to stop from crying out.

"What about my good looks?" he jibbed, wheezing through another surge of pain.

Cinelgen ignored the taunt. "We would have liked for you to come willingly. I regret that we fought in Vah Ruta."

Link's mind wandered back to his first meeting with Cinelgen, when the Gerudo and his bandits had attacked Divine Beast Vah Ruta. The incident had left Zelda badly wounded, and had incited the Zora to send that failed envoy into Gerudo Desert.

"Why would I come willingly to _you_?" Link scowled.

"It doesn't matter. You are here now, are you not? And we require your aid," Link detected a hint of chagrin in Cinelgen's voice. "Those Sheikah researchers have studied their ancient technology for years, yet you are among the few who truly _understand_ it. We believe those Beasts are alive, Link. They cannot just be studied. They must be tamed."

"You want my help?" Link muttered, unsure if he had heard clearly. "Why would I even help you?"

Cinelgen lowered the soaking cloth, and reached for a fresh set of bandages. "Because you have nowhere else to go," he answered as he focused on his task. "My people tell me that your Princess was planning on casting you aside - that once the pair of you had finished cleansing the Divine Beasts, she would send you to Goron City to meet with the politically neutral rock men."

Link stared blankly at his captor, open mouthed and blinking stupidly. "That makes no sense."

"Ask the Ambassador. It was to her that Zelda spoke," Cinelgen countered. He was unravelling a bolt of the fine gauze. He shrugged, almost innocent. "I heard you had a lovers' quarrel. Is it possible that your Princess no longer cares for you?"

"You don't know that," Link seethed. "You _can't_ know that." A pointless denial; there was no quashing the truth.

Cinelgen met his gaze, amd squared him up. A simple argument; "But I do, Champion."

As he prepared the bandages, Cinelgen spoke in a slow, sombre voice, as though telling the story by a fire. "One hundred years ago, a Calamity befell the land. A legend spreads of a knight put into a deep slumber. And then an unknown boy with no history and no past shows up in Hyrule wielding the very technology that almost destroyed this Kingdom. It was not difficult to surmise who you truly were. Then my spy in the envoy tells me of your arguments with the Princess, and I realise - why else would she send you away, if not because she no longer wanted you?"

Link had begun to shake his head, slow at first and then more and more frantic. "I don't have to listen to this!" he muttered, and then he sprung to his feet. He'd had enough, and didn't care if running would be akin to suicide. Immediately the steel rang as the guards drew their weapons, and Link halted, hovering awkwardly above his Gerudo captor.

Cinelgen looked up at him from his chair, unmoved.

"No, you don't. You don't even have the Slate anymore, which is what I truly needed." Cinelgen raised his hands and held out the bandages draped between them. "But you need those wounds dressed, and soon. Sit down, Link."

Link looked at the two guards, their weapons still drawn and their muscles taut, and felt the aching weakness in his chest. He had no other option but to sit. Cinelgen returned to his task, leaning forward to wrap the bandages around Link's bare chest. Link could hear the Gerudo's breath, and smell the cinnamon on him once again.

"Think on this, Champion," Cinelgen said softly. "No matter what you feel and no matter who you think the Princess is, you are an outcast just like us. Robbed of a home. Given no direction in life. You became someone you never would have been, and she decided to remove you from her life before it became too painful."

And then Cinelgen had finished up with the bandages, securing them with a small metal clasp. Link felt his skin begin to cool and his hands begin to shake. Was it rage, or grief, that had overcome him?

He raised his eyes to meet Cinelgen's. "Why are you telling me all this?"

Cinelgen nodded to his guards. They ushered Link out of the infirmary, down a side passage through the Castle, out along the Eastern Passage. Looming at the end of the wide stone path was an octagonal structure of stone and iron; a Gatehouse that in a past life served as a sparring ring.

The voice came like a gust of wind, rushing past him and catching the hairs on the nape of his neck.

 _You are too aggressive. You lunge without first reading your opponent. In a real fight that would get you killed._

His father's voice. Disapproving and stern. Almost angry. Link felt himself arguing back: _It's not my fault that everyone else is slower than me._

Another memory. He wasn't sure if he could trust it. The fever had brought all kinds of visions, and the fever had not yet passed. But Link wanted desperately this one to be real. Hearing his father's voice again nearly made him stumble, the shock sending him reeling, desperate to grasp what little of himself was left.

It had been before he was chosen. He had been training at the Gatehouse, a line of squires and lesser knights lining up to try to defeat him. Each one he had dispatched with an ease and bullish strength that had stunned even him. It was as though he could not help but win. As though he had been born to it, the steel of his sword an extension of himself. And at the centre of the swirling crowd of greyed faces, he remembered seeing his father's unyielding glare; two piercing blue eyes hovering disembodied from the crowd. _A knight is not a just weapon, Link. When will you learn that?_

When the memory faded, Link found himself standing before the twin iron doors that led into the Gatehouse. He was flanked still by Cinelgen and the guards. Taking in the gargantuan building, Link noticed that the upper terraces and windows had been boarded over with the same planks that lined the floor of the throne room; the same oaken wood and the same poor workmanship.

Before the guards opened the wrought iron door, Cinelgen placed a hand on Link's shoulder. "This one is good, Champion. The way they used to be." Link didn't understand.

Gingerly, as if expecting retaliation, the guards pried open the doors. Harsh light flooded into the chamber, and but once it had receded, Link saw what Cinelgen had been hiding.

He shuddered backwards in shock, stifling an instinctual scream.

It sat in the centre of Gatehouse - its winding legs tucked neatly at its side and its cylindrical body pulsating in a slow, almost peaceful rhythm - a Guardian. Whole, and alive, and _awake_.

Link felt his legs pushing against the ground, launching him into a fleet-footed sprint. But Cinelgen's guards were behind him, and they caught him before he could even take two steps.

"Look upon it, Link," Cinelgen urged, his voice exultant. "Don't you see the opportunity we have before us? _You alone_ can tame this beast. If we can control it, if we show the people of Hyrule that we have mastered that which destroyed their Kingdom…"

Mechanical gears whirred and spun, and the cylindrical head turned towards them in a single fluid motion. Its beady cyclops eye locked on to them, and it _saw_.

* * *

Kisses of snowflakes against her cheeks pulled Zelda from her slumber, although they turned quickly to bites and jabs. The cold was pervasive, gnawing: _Winter's Welcome_.

"Open your eyes."

 _Is that my father's voice?_ It was almost as deep. But too warm, too smooth… too kind.

"I'm glad to see you safe, Princess," came the voice again.

She felt soft feathers against her cheek, and the gentle rhythm of footfalls beneath her. But she was not walking. Someone was holding her close, carrying her through the vanishing-point trunks of wintery pines.

"We're almost there." The figure above her was an array of azures and earthy browns, embellished with bursts of colour like a painter's palette. From her vantage point, he was wide-set and towering. Zelda felt the softness against her cheek again; a simple realisation - her protector was of the Rito tribe.

"Revali?" she mumbled as her eyes found focus. For a fleeting moment the Rito above her spoke in the voice of an old friend. _You know, I think your dedication to unlocking your power is quite impressive, Princess._

Zelda felt a rumble against her cheek as the Rito laughed. "I am no Champion."

"Where am I?" she croaked.

"The better question is _who_ are you, little sparrow," said the Rito, smiling down at her. "Don't answer. The truth is a dangerous thing. Who would you be, if you were to be _safe_?"

 _Safe? When have I ever been safe?_ Zelda gazed up at the Rito as she tried to find her words, and saw two crimson feathers rising out from behind his left eye, arcing out into the air. She almost wanted to reach up and pluck them.

"I don't know what you mean," was all she could manage.

As her drowsiness faded, she became aware of a dull sensation of pain: her face, her knee, and another, deep in her chest. The third was an ache of a sudden absence - a meteoric hollow where _he_ had once been. Someone between friend and adversary, between past and present, between loved one and love lost.

Not long ago she'd wanted to send him away; she had even discussed it with Ambassador Larella. "Perhaps some time apart might help," she remembered saying. "You know what Link is like..."

But now the unfathomable had come to pass, reaffirming only that Zelda knew nothing about him at all.

The Rito lowered her down against a mossy boulder flanked by snow-flecked pines. Zelda took a moment take in her surroundings; they were on a narrow island, mere feet from a cliff face that led down to a wide and shining lake below. Winter winds ruffled and whipped at the water, waves cutting fast and sharp across the surface like a dagger. And beyond, were the jagged edges and snow-blanketed slopes of a mountain range. The Rito, the lake, the mountains - Link had sent her to _Hebra,_ of all places!

The Rito knelt before her. He frowned down at her right hand - at the glowing Royal Crest. Embarrassed, _scrutinised_ , Zelda pulled her sleeve down to cover it.

"Are you hurt?" the Rito asked, gentler than Zelda had been expecting.

Zelda shook her head, ignoring the throbbing pain in her fingers and nose.

"Who are you?" she gave the Rito a hard look, determinedly studying his face. "You seem… familiar."

"My name is Kass; I am a bard of the Rito of Lake Totori." His smooth voice and shapely eyes presented the guise of an earnest, almost fatherly air. "A pleasure to finally meet you."

" _Finally_ meet me…?" Zelda drew back, pressing herself into the stone behind her. "What are you talking about?" Her eyes flitted down to the Rito's neck; she saw no neckerchief, but felt no relief.

"The symbol on your hand," Kass said, his voice low and urgent. "It can only mean…"

She gaped at him with wide, disbelieving eyes, hands seeking purchase against the rock at her back, seeking stability in a world that was closing in around her.

"You know who I am, don't you?" Zelda breathed. There was only one place that Rito could have seen the symbol on her hand. _Hyrule Castle, now taken by those bandits._

"Why are you afraid?" Kass asked, sensing her panic. "What happened to you?"

She wanted to scream, to _run_ , even if she had nowhere to go. She hadn't expected to be recognised so soon, or at all. But of _course_ she would be. How many other Hylian girls bore the Royal Crest on their flesh?

"Nothing. Nothing!" Zelda couldn't answer; couldn't risk a single word in case this Rito was one of Cinelgen's.

The bard had her trapped at the edge of the island. Using her magic would only give her away. Her hand went to her hip, and she realised she no longer had the Sheikah Slate. Or the Sword. Or anything - aside from Link's crossbow hooked to her belt, of all _possible_ things, and even then she had no bolts.

The next thing she knew, the Rito was reaching for the accordion strapped to his side.

"I believe I have a song to remedy this misunderstanding," he said softly, standing and turning towards the lake. Zelda gaped at him, dumbfounded; what kind of captor serenaded his prisoner? Was it a Rito custom?

The melody that Kass played was simple and lilting, almost a waltz, but sweeter. Zelda spied a rope bridge not far from where she huddled. _Could I reach it? Could I outrun someone with wings?_

But there was no time to think. Just as Zelda was about ready to sprint across to the bridge, recognition hit her - she knew this song. It wasn't just a simple melody, and it wasn't a waltz.

A haunted gasp seized her chest; the song as a lullaby.

"Stop!" she cried, leaping to her feet so fast that her ears rang. _That song, my mother's song - my_ _song!_ "How do you know that song?!"

The bard continued to play as he spoke. "I trained under a Sheikah bard, a man who once served the Royal Family of Hyrule. He served as the personal court musician to the Princess of Hyrule, and in that time learned many songs passed down by the family. I only called him Teacher, but I believe his true name was-"

" _Lexo!?_ "

A warm smile crossed the bard's face. "Yes, that was it."

"You knew Lexo? How is he?"

Zelda could barely believe it. Lexo! Lexo, who had remembered all of her favourite songs, who was there by her side at every feast, who seemed able to feel her mood and play just the right song to match. He'd been a freckle-faced Sheikah, with a golden harp and haunting, almost ancient voice, and only a few years older than her when the Calamity had struck. Once, he had found her crying in the gardens of Hyrule Castle, and had thought it wise to play her lullaby. The same sweet melody that Zelda's mother had once sung. But the song only made her tears worse that day, and Zelda had screamed at Lexo to leave her alone. What she would give now to apologise to him, to make right her unkindness...

But the Rito had not answered, and Zelda understood.

"When?" she murmured.

"A few years ago," Kass replied solemnly. "He never wanted to teach me the lullaby… or any of the ancient songs. But he felt his strength failing, and knew that they needed to be passed on."

 _Another one lost_. The pain felt hollow, the grief little more than an echo of something that had already passed. To her dismay, Zelda realised the the feeling was familiar now, almost a comfort. A numbness that could protect her from the oncoming winter.

"And so Lexo entrusted the songs to you?" she asked. She tried to picture Lexo as an old man, but only Impa's face that came to mind. The Sheikah bard would always be a boy to her, now.

Kass nodded. He had returned to playing a different song, one she had not heard before. This one was indeed a waltz, though somehow sadder even than her own lullaby. "My teacher taught me all the songs he knew, so that they might survive and be returned to the Royal Family. I made that task my life's work."

Zelda was cautious. "But… the Royal Family are all gone. At least, that's what everyone believes. How could you know that your efforts weren't in vain?"

"My teacher had faith that the Princess would return, and he passed that faith on to me, I suppose." Kass's eyes passed over the rippling waters below, and his voice grew fond. "Lexo believed in the power of a good story. And the story of the Hero and the Princess - one of legend."

Familiarity became recognition, and recognition became understanding - Kass was the bard Link had spoken of. The one who had helped him throughout his quest to save her. The one whose song had helped them heal Vah Ruta and Akkala Citadel. It left her speechless; this bard had carried her family's songs with no proof that she would even return to hear them. All he had was the word of his teacher, and the strength of his own faith. Zelda looked up at Kass, and heard Revali's voice again: _your dedication is impressive indeed… and dedication deserves its own reward._

"' _The Hero and the Princess,'_ " Zelda recited. "' _Hand in hand, must bring the light back to this land_.' That is one of your songs."

Kass halted his playing, muted surprise crossing his features. "You've… heard this song, then?"

"Not in full, no," Zelda admitted, a little sourly. "How does it go?"

Kass nervously padded the buttons of his accordion. "I was instructed only to pass the song onto the Princess, and her appointed knight. Am I correct-"

"Play the song," Zelda commanded gently, she peered over her shoulder, and saw that the island was empty. "You were right. The Princess is before you."

Kass opened his beak to speak, but could not, awe and relief blooming on his colourful face. But then, and with a sigh, he shouldered his accordion.

"Not now. You must tell me what has happened to you and to your appointed knight, the Champion Link."

Hearing his name burned like acid, but Zelda kept her face impassive. "My knight?" she said.

Her words seemed to startle the Rito. "You do not know him?"

"No… I do." _Is that it then? Was it duty? Is that why you saved me, after all that I said to you?_

Zelda gazed down at the lake as she gathered her words. Beyond the icy shore she spotted the Shrine where she had materialised, and the ravine beyond. Eventually she began to explain, the memories of their heist on Hyrule Castle still raw. "There's a man looking for me. A Gerudo. He leads a group that call themselves the _Successors_. They've taken Hyrule Castle, but it's as if… they're trying to hide it. They barely have anyone posted beyond the walls and they have barely begun to repair it..."

Kass ran idle wingtips across the feathers of his face, nodding as she spoke. "So the bandits do have a name," he mused. "And I take it they are not merely _Gerudo_ bandits?"

"No. There are Zora, Gerudo, Hylians, and even Rito among their number. Some are Yiga and some are not. I don't understand where they're all coming from."

"And you had an unfortunate run in with them, then?"

Zelda nodded. In the far distance a white Rito was approaching the ravine that bordered the Shrine. "They know what I look like. They know what I was carrying." She looked down at her bare belt and shrugged. "Though I've lost most of what I had."

The memory was coming back slowly, like snow to the thaw; she had been trudging through towards the firelight, and distracted by some great dragon above her, she had stumbled. When she had opened her eyes she was lying by the ravine, the Master Sword and Sheikah Slate no longer bundled in her arms, but rather tumbling down towards the waters below.

"I made such a mess of things. I really did," Zelda lamented as Kass looked on.

Zelda had sat crouched at the edge of that windy ravine for so long that her fingertips and her nose had near frozen over. When she had squinted down to the waters of the ravine, she had been able to make out the glint of the Sword's golden scabbard, but little else. When the pain of the chill had become too much, she'd crawled to the fire she had spotted, and had fallen into what felt like a one hundred-year sleep.

"I sense this is a tragedy you are telling," the bard offered, and Zelda smiled in spite of herself.

"It is." She sighed. "We tried to infiltrate Hyrule Castle like fools. Link was injured - gravely - but he helped me escape. And I… I really don't know if he's alive." The realisation brought another ache, this one deeper than the rest. The familiar, almost nostalgic ache of failure. "I should know… but I don't…"

Kass gingerly placed a wingtip on her shoulder. "You must convalesce here. Winter is upon us, and it will be a harsh one. The travellers speak of _war_ between the Zora and Gerudo."

"Oh - that!" Zelda whimpered. She had somehow forgotten about the _war_ , amongst everything else.

A born storyteller, Kass was more than capable of filling her in."Thankfully the parties have not met in battle. They cannot, not in the winter, and not while the Gerudo hold such a defensible position in their desert."

"Nowhere in Hyrule is _defensible_ , not anymore," Zelda muttered under her breath.

Awkward, caught a little off-guard by her comment, the Rito removed his wingtips from her shoulder. "Indeed," he exhaled. "And I have reason to believe that even Lake Totori is not safe. A friend of mine has noticed strange disappearances in the village, and I just wonder if perhaps…"

Zelda sighed. "There could be bandits here too."

"I can tell my brethren you are my student, and none will question it, but if these Successors recognise you…"

Zelda scanned the horizon, and focused on her breathing. She could not leave Lake Totori, nor could she enter Rito Village and risk recognition. And right now, she had no means of teleportation. And whatever it was she had tried to do in Hyrule Castle, she was not strong enough to reach this ' _other place_ ', let alone travel anywhere…

Her empty gaze snagged on a faint silhouette in the west; shadowed and monotone, stood the tallest towers of Hyrule Castle, climbing up into the morning sky.

 _What would_ you _do?_ she wondered. The Castle, and the boy within, gave no response. But Zelda knew the knight well enough to guess.

 _Adapt. That's what he would do. Return to a place of neutrality. Start again. He would become what he needed to be._

Just like that, it was settled. She didn't _need_ to be Zelda to continue her work. Until now, she had operated in a world that thought her dead. All she needed was to survive.

"They're looking for a girl with long blonde hair and a golden mark on her right hand," Zelda finally said, speaking more for herself than for Kass.

"Those things are not easily changed," Kass cautioned.

"Perhaps not." She shrugged off his concern. A plan had formed in her mind. Even in Link's absence, it felt like a collaboration.

Zelda looked up at her new Rito ally. "Kass, if I may, do you have a knife?"

* * *

Lesson one: _to grieve was to accept the loss._

Zelda did not allow herself to mourn as she used Kass's paring knife to haphazardly slice away the tendrils of her long golden braid. It was just hair, after all. Like an orchid of flowers, it would grow in both peace and in adversity. Each lock that fell was tossed into Lake Totori to be washed away by the wind and water. Zelda left the hair long enough to be pulled back with a leather tie, and she sliced the bangs a little shorter so that they hung about her face, concealing her soft cheeks and slender neck. The ends were now crude and jagged, frayed somewhat by the dull blade, but Zelda figured that added credence to her disguise.

Lesson two: _we are made who we are by our stories - by our memories._

"You can call me Rowan," she told Kass, speaking in a lower, richer tone. "I'm a Hylian male, your apprentice. We met in Necluda, the birthplace of your mentor. His legend is what caused me to seek you out."

"Rowan is a woman's name, is it not?" Kass implored.

"And a male name. My parents wanted me to choose. So I chose."

"Princess-"

" _Rowan._ "

"Rowan," Kass repeated firmly. "What about the mark?"

Lesson three: _thoughts should be observed, and allowed to pass_

"Zelda spent a few days trying to understand _why_ the mark had appeared..." Speaking about herself in this way was awkward, but Zelda was determined. _I am not her, not anymore._ "She never considered just… letting go."

Closing her eyes to focus, Zelda held her left hand over her right. She imagined the life of a Necludan boy with no special heritage and no destiny beyond a simple desire to seek a teacher. She imagined that the real princess been left at the Rito Stables, and had foolishly run out into the Hebra wilderness. That this girl had succumbed to a passing blizzard, and would not be found until the spring thaw.

She imagined never having known a noble birth. She imagined never having lived in that Castle. She imagined never having met her appointed Knight. And she imagined never having loved him at all; neither the original, nor his reiteration.

When Zelda removed her hand, the glowing symbol was gone. Kass breathed a sigh of relief and motioned for them to head towards the village.

"Isn't it a shame, Teacher?" Zelda said as they walked through the wooden gates towards the spiralling village. The shadow of Divine Beast Vah Medoh stretched across their path. Zelda passed a quick glance at the eagle automaton, and then pushed the thought of it from her mind.

"Hm?" Kass peered down at her, eyes quizzical.

"The songs can never be passed on. We will never finish our true task," Zelda explained. "The Royal Family are all gone."

* * *

The Rito kitchen swayed softly in the afternoon breeze, its chains creaking and groaning. Neatly stacked tins of condiments and spices slid back and forth on the shelves, and more than once Zelda worried that something would fall. But nothing ever did, and for some reason that put her even more on edge.

As the day had dragged on, she had become hypervigilant. Each passing Rito was an assailant, each sideways look in her direction an accusation. But Kass jad led her to the kitchen without incident, taking her via his hut to hide her crossbow among his things - the last remaining possession that marked her as _the Princess_.

Kass had sat at her down by the fire at the centre of the suspended kitchen; it was the warmest place in the village, he had explained, but Zelda could not seem to shake the chill. Was it the cold, or the fear that made her shiver? _Liars must believe their own story,_ she told herself. And so she recited the same words in her head over and over, until they became a chant, a mantra.

 _I am Rowan, bard of Necluda. Zelda is dead, but Rowan can live._

Kass had settled down opposite her, taking a polishing cloth to the straps of his accordian. The leather glistened under the firelight, and Zelda could smell the pungent, woody odour of polishing oil from across the fire.

"My friend's name is Teba," Kass began after a time. "He found you. He was the one to notice disappearances in the village."

"Can we trust him?" Zelda asked nervously. She found herself impulsively checking the skin of her right hand for any signs of the mark, but it had not yet returned.

Kass looked up from his accordion. "Teba? Of course. Teba could never cross anyone. He is too… self-disciplined. You'll find him at the Flight Range."

"That's where Zelda arrived in Hebra," she commented upon recalling the Shrine. "That's where her belongings are. We should retrieve them."

"You'll need to wait until the morning then. Teba never returns until sundown, and even a well-travelled boy such as yourself should not make that trek alone."

Zelda nodded, taking in the information. She ran a hand through her hair, finding herself still startled but the newfound lightness of it.

The rumble of talons against planks and a cacophony of excited giggles and squawks signaled the passing of a flock of Rito fledglings - they were chasing each other up the stairs, squeaking and yammering, and a few who passed stopped to wave, shouting, 'Hello father!'

Kass raised a wing back, a wide grin on his face. One of the girls who stopped even added, 'Hello Rowan!'

Zelda let out a nervous laugh.

They had met Kass' colourful daughters on their way into Rito Village. One of the girls, the mint-green Genli, had spotted her father from the lookout, and soon his entire flock had been walking the bard to his home.

Trailing the flock that passed the kitchen was a small white fledgling, and when he spotted Kass and Zelda he stopped in his tracks. His wide yellow eyes locked onto Zelda, and he hovered at the entrance of the kitchen, as though privy to some secret he should not know.

"Tulin?" Kass said to the fledgling. "Are you alright?"

The child seemed familiar; had she seen him in a dream? She remembered seeing yellow eyes above her; two bulbs of amber cutting through the haze of an early morning snow.

"It's you," Tulin said. "Your hand was glowing. Where's my Father?"

Zelda swallowed hard as the memory returned; this boy had been at the Flight Range with Teba, she remembered suddenly. What's more, he had seen her mark.

The only thing to do was deny him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Tulin," Kass clipped. "This is Rowan. He's my student."

"He?" the fledgling cocked his head to the side. "Father called her 'girl'. She has a mark. I saw it."

"I-I do _not_ ," Zelda protested, feeling her voice slip. "And I'm not a girl."

" _But Fath_ -"

"Tulin!?"

It was a woman's voice that rang out, and soon a breathless pink Rito darted up the stairs towards the fledgling, her curled feathers bouncing about her face. The fledgling's eyes went wide when he turned towards her. "M-Mother?" he all but squeaked.

"What are you doing here?" she scolded. "Where is your Father?"

"Afternoon Saki," Kass cut in, his normally amiable tone strained.

Saki stared at them in disbelief. "Kass? You're back?" she said quietly. And then she saw Zelda by the fire, and she narrowed her eyes. "Who is this?"

Kass cleared his throat, and stood from the fire. Like a shadow, Zelda followed.

"I have taken an apprentice," the bard explained. "This is Rowan. He is from Necluda."

Zelda gave Saki a quick two-finger salute, as she had seen Link do in the past. Thinking on his mannerisms helped with her disguise, she supposed, even if thinking about him at all fed the ache in her chest.

"But… she's a girl," Tulin piped up as he went to his mother's side. "I saw her at the Flight Range with Father."

"Is that so, little one?" Saki said, idly cupping her son's head against her wingtip. Zelda felt Saki's scrutinising gaze boring into her, seeking the soul beneath. She felt her right hand was shaking, as if the divine light could burst from it at any moment.

"I met Rowan near the Dueling Peaks Stables a month or so ago," Kass continued. "We travelled here together."

"But I saw her!" Tulin insisted, reaching up to tug on his mother's wingtip "She has a mark on her hand! I saw it! Triangles or something, and gold!"

"Most interesting." Saki grinned down at her son, her sweet voice twinged severe, almost greedy. She looked back towards Zelda, her smile never fading. "Why don't you show Tulin your hand? Humour him."

Zelda felt as though her mouth had turned to dust. "Uh, I don't..." was all she managed.

Kass was coy, always the performer - he did not acknowledge the tension that they all felt. "We saw a girl of that description at the Rito Stables, Saki. Teba mentioned finding her at the Range. Perhaps this is what Tulin is remembering?"

"I remember _her_!" Tulin cried. "I saw it, Mother. I promise - look!"

And then Tulin was storming over towards Zelda, and before she could fend him off the boy had seized her right arm, and was thrusting it forward..

It was almost unbearable to look, but when she did, Zelda saw nothing more than the back of her hand - her pale skin, the faint impressions of her bones, and her snaking blue veins, but nothing else.

 _Zelda is dead. But Rowan lives._

"Let go of my hand, child," she growled at the fledgling boy. "Before I _slap_ you with it."

Tulin jolted away from her, and sprinted frantically back to his mother. He hid under Saki's wing, and glued his curious yellow eyes to the floor. Zelda saw Saki take a long breath.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Rowan, and my apologies for my son's behavior," she smiled. "So my husband took this girl to the Stables?"

"We met him there on our way in," Kass affirmed. "He might still be there."

Saki seemed to accept the lie readily, and Zelda had to pinch herself to stop from groaning with relief. The Rito woman placed a hand at Tulin's back. "Do you fancy a walk to Rito Stables, little one?"

Tulin grinned and nodded excitedly, and soon the pair were disappearing down the spiral stairs. Once they were out of sight, Zelda knelt once again by the fire. Her hands were shaking, and her heartbeat thrummed in her ears - but she had lived, and her lie had held true. A small victory, but perhaps the first in months. She breathed deep the frigid air and smoke from the fire, feeling cleansed.

"Come, let us find go wait for Teba," Kass said, extending his wingtip to her. "We will need to speak to him before anyone else."

It was Zelda who nodded up at her Rito ally, and Zelda who took his wingtips in her hand; but,as the afternoon light began to recede behind the Hebra mountains, it was Rowan who stood.

* * *

A snowstorm had begun to pass over Hyrule Castle, the icy winds howling between the crevices and cracks in the Castle walls. In the winter air, Link's body had become numb all over; first from the cold, and then from the shock. Or perhaps the other way around.

The storm had replaced the fever, it seemed, and Link found himself reaching out, yearning for the heat to return, his mind seeking the delirium. At least then there was a chance that all he had seen in the Gatehouse was nothing more than the creation of a memory-addled mind.

It was madness. _Insanity_. Still, underneath his panic he found a… curiosity. Link had never met a Guardian that did not attack. He had never seen one so… at peace. He wondered what they were truly like without the corruption. Were they like the Divine Beasts? Did the automatons have souls? _Zelda might know_.

Link winced at the thought of her. Meeting the Guardian had almost made him forget Cinelgen's words - that Zelda wanted to send him away, and that apparently the Ambassador could corroborate the story. Link raised his head and squinted through the dark cells to see the Larella still in her cell opposite him.

She was asleep, it seemed, huddled against the stone wall with her long arms wrapped limply around her legs.

"Larella." Link's voice was urgent as he called to the sleeping Ambassador. " _Larella!_ "

Larella started awake, and raised her head to look at Link. "W-what is it?" she asked weakly, sniffling as she spoke.

Link cast his mind back to that miserable journey out of the desert. He crawled slowly towards the edge of his cell, and leant up against the bars. "When you were speaking with Zelda… did she ever mention wanting to send me away?"

Larella pondered his words for a moment, remaining huddled against the wall. Eventually she said, "She did, in fact."

"What did she say?" he asked, bracing against the bars for the answer.

Larella sniffled again, and recounted what she knew; "We were discussing the Divine Beasts, and she mentioned that once your work with them was done… that it might be for the best if you were to travel to Goron City."

Another blow to the chest, but this time it felt as though it came from within. Cinelgen's words clung to the clammy air like a mist. _You became someone you never would have been, and she decided to send you away before it became too painful._

It was hard to tell in the low light, but Link thought he saw the Ambassador frown. "Why are you asking me?"

How to explain? _Cinelgen has an weaponised automaton sitting in a shack and thinks I'm the only person living who can control it._

Instead, he settled with, "Cinelgen wants me to work for him. He says I have nowhere else to go and I… I guess I'm not sure."

Weary cynicism simmered in Larella's voice. "And this - you aiding the man who has torn apart our kingdom and undone all of your work - hinges on whether or not the Princess cares about you?"

He felt like a fool when Larella spoke about it that way, but could do nothing but admit the truth. "Yes."

Larella sighed, and finally crawled over to the bars of her cell. She wrapped her jewel-less hands around the rusted iron. "Listen to nothing Cinelgen says, Champion, and ignore whatever you think you feel about the Princess. She _isn't here_ , and nothing she said matters."

"But do you think she-"

"Wanted to be rid of you? Are you really worried that she doesn't care for you? At a time like this?" Larella laughed and shook her head, her fins flicking gently against her face. "So _what,_ Link? I cared for Dorephan - I _loved_ him - and look where I am."

Link had nothing to say to her. His head was swimming again, the last of his fever refusing to yield.

Larella was not done. "You cannot play politics with Cinelgen's people," she insisted. "You must do what will keep you alive. I can guarantee you the Princess is doing the same."

 _Stay alive._ There was truth in her words, and he'd done a fine job of staying alive in his life thus far. If anything he was bad at dying.

 _Stay alive_ , Link repeated to himself. He closed his eyes to shut out the question that followed: _But what for?_

* * *

The afternoon light had faded, turning the dusk sky into a painting of every colour. Zelda could not remember the world looking as crisp and clear as it did from Lake Totori, the winter chill seeming to lock it all in place under the dome that was the sky. None of it seemed real; Zelda felt as though she could frame it somehow.

 _Hello, Revali._ She thought as she stepped out onto the landing named in his honour. _Are you well, wherever you are? Can I ever apologise enough?_

Perhaps she already had; Zelda had begged all of them a hundred hundred times over. But standing where she and Revali had once stood… it brought the guilt back in droves.

Kass was already waiting for her on the landing, his accordion in hand as he serenaded the lake below. It was the sombre waltz again, the one that she did not recognise.

"Evening, little sparrow," the bard greeted as she approached.

"Evening's welcome, Teacher," Zelda returned. "Is Teba far away?"

Kass had no time to answer. A sudden gust of wind cut through the stillness of the dusk, heralding the warrior's arrival. Zelda watched as the white-feathered Rito warrior swooped up from below the platform, wings arcing deftly as he brought himself in to land on the wooden planks. He appraised them with stern and stony grey eyes, knife-like brows knitted in a scowl.

"Kass." Teba nodded to the bard, before looking to Zelda. She felt herself shrink away under his glare. "It's you. Your name is..."

"Rowan. We met on the way into Rito Village," Zelda said, mustering her courage. "I've come to learn the bard's trade."

Teba huffed. "You want my advice?" he said gruffly, folding his arms at his chest. "Don't. It's boring, and pointless."

"I could say the same for being a warrior, friend," Kass teased. And while Teba rolled his eyes and shrugged off the jest, Zelda noticed something else in his expression. A bristling anger? A frustration? She knew had seen it somewhere before.

"Why the welcome, Kass?" Teba questioned.

"I've lost some things in the Flight Range Ravine. I need some help retrieving them" Zelda said before Kass could explain. The warrior did not look at her.

"I'm an errand-donkey now?" he frowned at the bard. "Thought you said you'd look after the girl."

"Ah - Teba, you are mistaken." Kass grinned. "This little sparrow is not the girl you found. _That_ girl was left at the Stables, remember?"

Teba stared at them, marble eyes moving left to right between the bard and his charge. "You're kidding, right?"

Zelda had had enough of discussing her disguise; and she did not care if this warrior believed it or not. "Kass tells me you're investigating disappearances in the village."

The warrior subjected her again to his harsh glare,and for a moment she regretted speaking. _Zelda would cower. Rowan would not._ She stood a little straighter, bracing for Teba's reply.

All he said was: "What of it?"

"I can help you."

"I don't need help," he pointed an accusing wingtip at the bard. "And aren't you _his_ apprentice?"

"I haven't yet chosen my profession."

"Rowan is quite worldly," Kass cut in. "He can aid you."

" _He_!?" Teba shook his head. "Kass, _what_ is going on?"

Kass lowered his accordion, and spoke with a harrowing and unfamiliar severity. "I am asking you to trust me. You _cannot_ work alone any longer. Do you want to help the village or not?"

An unspoken standoff. Years of a friendship that Zelda was not party to laid on the line. She watched the Rito spar with nothing more than their eyes.

"Fine," Teba relented at last. He pointed to the Rito crest painted on the planks. "Meet me here, tomorrow at dawn. I will not wait for you, _Rowan,_ do you understand?"

"I understand."

Before Teba pushed past them to enter the village, he muttered, "Never much liked sparrows."

Zelda watched him go with a mixture of trepidation and annoyance. "Is he always that grumpy?" she asked.

Kass chuckled, and strapped his accordion to his shoulder. "Teba enjoys his independence. He won't even take an apprentice. But you'll get used to him."

The bard reached down to his belt, and Zelda noticed for the first time that he had a large parcel secured to his side. He unhooked it carefully, saying "That reminds me. I cannot teach an apprentice who does not play."

Kass handed her the parcel; it was heavy and round, and Zelda had to hold it with both hands. She carefully pried apart the hessian wrapping, and found a golden harp wrapped up within. Eight steels strings were stretched across its curved body, and the ends of its twin arms were carved into the shape of raven's heads with long beaks and blank eyes. Zelda was near completely taken by the beauty of it, and the strange sense that she had seen it before. She let the hessian wrapping fall away, and held the harp in her arms.

"This was Lexo's. Wait. No - this was Zelda's," she realised, breathless as she beheld the small piece of her past. "He so wanted her to learn, but she never had time."

"Perhaps Rowan can learn what Zelda could not."

Zelda gazed up at Kass, stunned. "Are you actually going to teach me?"

"Passing on the songs of your family are my purpose. Of course I will. And another thing -" he reached for his accordion once more "- it is time I played you the song."

* * *

The snowstorm had blanketed in the castle in a thick layer of brilliant white snow, masking its decay and making it almost seem… regal. But it was Hylian tradition that the dead wear white, Link recalled. _Am I here for Hyrule's funeral then?_ He wondered.

The chilly morning air nipped at the still sensitive skin on his chest as the guards escorted him through the Castle, his thin cotton shirt doing little to stave off the cold. The throne room was no less wintery, its austere stone and high ceiling perhaps exacerbating the chill.

Cinelgen's court was not of the calibre that Link remembered from his time as a knight. There were no lords and ladies, no subtle and untraversable social hierarchy, and certainly no finery. It was Cinelgen, and his bandits. A king and his kingdom, with nothing else in between.

Somehow Cinelgen did not seem to feel the winter air. Where the rest of his people had scraped together something in the way of warm garb, the Gerudo kept to his plain traveller's shirt and trousers, opting to show his position through a simple red and burgundy cloak that he wore draped over his right shoulder.

The throne room became a sea of hushed whispers when Link was led in. He stepped out into the middle of the wooden planks at the centre of the room, and looked up to the throne, and the man sat precariously upon it.

"I have made a decision, Cinelgen," Link called up to him. "I will help you with the Guardian."

Cinelgen had been leaning back in the throne, his long-limbed body seemingly too large for the chair. He stood when Link spoke, and walked to the edge of the balcony. "Ah - fine words," he grinned, green eyes sparkling in the morning light. "You thought on my words?"

"I did. And part of me agrees," Link told him. "I am not what I was."

"Good… good…" Cinelgen leaned out over the balcony, fingers excitedly drumming the faded golden railing.

Link took a deep breath, savouring the clarity of mind that he felt; the fever had at last left him the night before. "I have a few conditions, however," he went on.

That gave Cinelgen reason for pause. After a moment, the Gerudo nodded for Link to continue.

"I would like my own room. A small sleeping cell. My wounds will fester as long as I'm down in that Lockup. I'd like to be allowed to carry a dagger. And… any prisoners that you take because of me, or because of the Princess… they are not to be harmed."

Cinelgen thought on Link's words, his eyes passing slowly across the people of his cobbled-together court. If there was dissent it was undetectable. Link spied Milagre standing in the wings, and even her face was held still.

"The first two, done," Cinelgen decreed. "The third, I'm afraid… I cannot guarantee how my people will act."

Link was not in a position to argue. _I'm sorry, Larella._

"You start on the morrow," Cinelgen continued. He motioned to the wings, singling out the Hylian youth that Link knew as Inglis. "Inglis, find Link somewhere to sleep, and give him whatever dagger you are carrying."

"Aye, Chief," came the soldier-like response from the Hylian, and before the morning was over, Inglis had completed both tasks. Link was given a sleeping cell among the royal apartments, a small paring knife, and two personal guards to 'protect' him at all times. Link found himself struck by Inglis' diligence.

"I shot you, didn't I?" Link said to the Hylian after he was led into the cell. "At the Sacred Grounds."

Inglis would not look at him, instead preferring to ponder the ground between their feet. Link saw that he was biting his lip.

"That you did," Inglis said. "Healed clean. Could have nicked my collarbone but you didn't."

"Well, Cinelgen got your revenge for you," Link chuckled. "Twice over."

In the Hylian's pained expression Link detected the hint of a smile.

"Look, I uh…" Inglis began, meeting Link's eyes for no more than a heartbeat. "I think you made the right choice."

 _Do you really?_ Before Link could speak, the Hylian had turned to leave, and he was left alone in his small sleeping cell. It contained little more than a bed, a desk and a chest, with no rug on its hard stone floor and no pictures on its plain walls. Through a tiny, unshuttered window, Link could see the staggered skyline of the Hebra Mountains, and the Divine Beast tucked among them.

"I'm sorry as well, Zelda," he said under his breath. "I'm sorry that it ended the way it did."

Maybe she had never cared for him. It didn't matter, as much as it hurt. Larella had the truth of it; in this new Hyrule, his priority would have to be to survive.

Link ran a hand through his hair. Matted, as it had been for a few days now. The dirt of the cell had woven its way into his hair, making his scalp itch and his neck tingle as the knotted tufts scratched at his nape.

Inglis' dagger in hand and his ponytail in the other, Link cut his hair above the leather tie that secured it, in a series of short, uneven hacks. The matted hair fell away, landing forgotten against the ground as outside, another snowstorm was approaching the Castle.

Link sat down by the window, and gazed out towards the mountains to watch the snowfall. He shook out his newly shortened hair and felt strangely at ease - welcomed by an unknown familiarity.

And then, the suddenness of it catching him off-guard, he laughed - a ridiculous, disbelieving laugh as he realised: _this used to be my room._

* * *

Zelda gripped the railing so tight that the splinters dug into her skin. The evening snowfall of the night prior had given way to blistering morning winds, and so she had to brace herself against the railing while she waited for the Rito Warrior. As Teba had instructed, she had risen before dawn and clambered down the frost-covered spiral stairs to the Revali's Landing.

It was more than just the morning chill that shook her however. The song Kass had played for her the night before still looped in her mind, lingering and echoing, refusing to leave her be.

"You played this for him? _Why_?" she had demanded of Kass once he was done. She had been red with embarrassment, _mortified_ by what she had heard.

"He deserved to hear his own story."

 _So he knew how I felt. He always knew_.

Had the feeling been real? She could hardly remember. One hundred years of memory and dream - mixed with intensity of the past few months - had meant she was beginning losing parts of her life before the Calamity, just as Link had.

But the story in the song could never be forgotten; an ancient evil returning once again after 10,000 years; a Hero who laid down his life; and a Princess whose love for him had awoken the power needed to save their kingdom.

"That isn't his story anymore," Zelda had murmured. "He's lost too much of himself."

The bard had not been expecting such a negative reaction from her, and was almost distraught at seeing her weep. He'd wrapped a wing around her, and waited until her tears were finished to speak.

"You know, little sparrow. A teller of stories always dreams of meeting his subjects," Kass had said. "When I met Link, it felt as though my teacher's song had come to life. So I wonder if perhaps, our friend has been liberated and is at last his true self… and that it is the _world_ that has changed."

And the world had indeed changed, Zelda reflected. It was not only ruin that pervaded Hyrule, but an aimlessness too. What was it that Cinelgen had said? _The people are little more than leaves in the wind._

Zelda had never considered it; what it would be like to wake up in world as sparse as theirs, to know no one, and to know no purpose but to _fight_.

"I thought… I thought he was afraid of failing…" Zelda had said to Kass, understanding slowly forming in her mind. "But that wasn't it. Your song… your story told him he wouldn't fail. He's the Hero, and the Hero always wins."

"But what happens when the point is not to win?" Kass had added. "When it is person against person, when the monsters are hidden in plain sight? What kind of story is that?"

Zelda had shuddered through another sob, dazed by the sudden clarity."I was the only one he had who could understand. The only story he had was _ours_. But I told him it didn't _matter_. That I no longer cared. Those were among my last words to him, Kass."

"They need not be, not yet." Kass had reassured her. "You can still save him."

" _How_?"

"Teba." the bard had said firmly. "He will help you. He is a strategist through and through.

And so Zelda stood on the landing in wait of the warrior. She wrapped her hand tighter around the railing and looked towards the Castle. _I shall wake every morning and look at it_ , she thought. _To remind myself of his words. Courage. That is what I must have._

"I've been the biggest fool," Zelda told the Castle, and the boy within, needing suddenly to speak to him. "I thought I understood you. I thought I knew all there was to know about you. But I am-" she thought of the Sword waiting for her at the bottom of a ravine. "No - _we_ , are coming to get you."

Another quarter hour passed before Teba arrived at the landing, talons clicking against the planks as he stalked purposefully onto the platform. An angular Rito bow was strapped to his back, the metal gears on its limbs catching the morning sunlight.

"Good morni-"

Teba cut off her pleasantries. "We'll go on foot. You'll keep up or I'll leave you behind. I'm not here to babysit you."

"Understood." Zelda gave a curt nod, feeling a little foolish as she spoke in her faux-deep voice. _Are you sure about this, Kass?_ Before they set off, Zelda gave the Castle one last look.

 _Sit tight, Hero,_ she silently called to him, imagining that wherever he was, he might hear her. _I waited one hundred years for you. You can wait a little while longer for me._


	12. Within

_Lexo of Kakariko Village walked with through the pine-strewn paths of Hebra, his apprentice trailing close behind. The young Rito held a parchment in his wingtips, and was trudging through the snow with a glum expression on his face._

 _The poem on the parchment was written in bold, almost brazen handwriting; as though it demanded to be read. The creed of the bard, Lexo's father had called it. Lexo usually kept it in his notebook, stored safely in his pack with his golden harp and travel provisions. But today he had instructed his apprentice to commit it to memory._

 _"Give me a hint at least, Lexo," Kass whined. "What does it mean?"_

" _A bard must create meaning for himself, Kass," Lexo admonished. "Until then, you will always be a fledgeling."_

 _Kass frowned. "If I get it right, will you teach me one of the Royal Songs?"_

" _Not until I have no choice."_

 _The bard had waited a long time to find a suitable apprentice; over ninety years now, as it happened. Kass was a quick learner, with a raw talent impressive even amongst the Rito, and respected Lexo despite their vast difference. But Lexo could not teach his apprentice the Royal Songs until the he understood their importance._

" _Recite the poem once more," Lexo instructed. "Learn its character. Let the words be the meaning."_

" _If you say so," Kass sighed he began to read:_

" _The teller weaves a novel tale,  
But knows the tale is a lie.  
A truth inherent,  
But purpose inerrant,  
His mask not worn as a disguise."_

" _I still don't understand it," Kass added once he was done. "I will never understand it."_

 _Lexo was undeterred. "Do not dismiss yourself like this, Kass. Fruit always rots-"_

" _-from within; I know, I know."_

 _As they crested a snow-covered hill, the bard felt his breath catch, and his legs wobble. His age was beginning to show, he realised, and for a moment he wanted to rest. But then he saw them, the image branded within him - that ephemeral Princess that he could never quite capture, along with her blazing knight falling at her feet. Their was the song he had worked so hard to keep alive. The bard felt suddenly rejuvenated. The song would be passed on, in time._

" _Again, Kass," Lexo said as he continued along the path. "Those words are more than a poem; they are your duty. As they once were mine."_

* * *

Aching again, in her fingers, nose, and chest. The cold didn't numb her, as Zelda had assumed it would - it made her more aware, and keener too. Zelda felt it all; every cut and bruise that she had sustained in her young life, rendered again on the surface by the Hebra chill.

"How much further?" she called forward, her words half swallowed up by the wind. Sharp granite eyes shot back the answer: _does it matter?_ Zelda returned Teba's tepid glare with her own scowl, but the Rito warrior seemed unmoved. For nearly an hour they had trudged through the snow towards the Flight Range, and for almost all of it, Zelda had been content to clench her jaw tight and silently brace against the cold. What could she and this Rito discuss anyway?

But Kass had told her she could trust Teba - that he could _help_ her - and Zelda could not work with someone that she could not talk to. _You did not mind Link's silences_ , came the reply from within. She bit her lip and forged ahead through the snow.

"I'm told the Flight Range is used for archery practice," Zelda said as caught up, breathless as she fought to keep pace through the snow.

Teba grunted in response, but said nothing.

"The Rito are well respected for their archery skills." she continued.

Teba grunted again. "You think I don't know that?"

"Well, I've always wanted to learn," Zelda fought down her mounting frustration with the Rito warrior, determined to remain amiable, and felt the sharpness of his gaze when he eyed her sceptically.

"Have you? And that crossbow? Just for show?"

"It was a gift," Zelda asserted, wanting to believe the lie. In their final moments together, Link must have clipped it to her belt. _Could a gift be forced upon the receiver?_ she wondered. Regardless, the crossbow still hung at her hip; she had brought it with her on their trip to the Flight Range, needing it as a final secret link between who she truly was and the person she was pretending to be.

But it seemed Teba saw through her lie, as he had all the others. "Some gift. You forgot the bolts."

 _I don't need them_ , Zelda wanted to say. There was no way to explain. Perhaps she could trust this Rito, but she would be a fool to go about recklessly showing off the powers she had worked so hard to hide.

Instead she said, "I know," and surreptitiously ran her fingers over her right hand where the mark of the Royal Crest had once shone. Teba just was shook his head. A cutting gust of wind bellowed through the trees, and it felt as though the cold was passing right through her. Zelda still wore Link's Hylian tunic, unable to find anything warmer to wear, and her hands and fingers were beginning to blister from the frostbite. _The Slate will have warmer clothes stored in the Inventory_. _I just need to wait until we retrieve it._ She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered, closing her eyes and dreaming of a hot fire or a warm bed.

Teba scoffed. "You oughta be cold. Coming here dressed like that."

"How is this my fault?" Zelda snapped, the persistence of both the cold and Teba's negativity breaking her at last. "I didn't exactly have a choice!"

"Yeah, yeah, you're in some trouble so great that Kass won't even tell me what it is," Teba grumbled, irritably reaching up to adjust his armour straps, pulling them tighter than needed. "Maybe soon you'll promote me from nanny to acquaintance, and I can get the full story out of you both."

"You think I _want_ to be here!?" Zelda demanded, her shivers becoming weak, racking sobs in the hollow of her chest. "Stuck in the far end of Hyrule, half frozen!?"

"I'm stuck here too, travelling on _foot_ with someone too weak to manage walking alone."

"I can manage just fine without the likes of someone as _rude_ as you!"

A noise came from Teba that almost sounded like a laugh, if Zelda believed the warrior to have a single mite of humour within him. "Oh, that all you got, Rowan? I'm _rude_? Because I can be a lot worse."

The Shrine by the ravine was finally coming into view, the cerulean pulse marking a faint silhouette against the misty air. They came to a fork in the path that led towards the Flight Range, and when Zelda had no reply for him, Teba shook his head again and hastened through the snow.

Zelda chased after him, insolent, footfalls heavy as the snow crunched under her feet. "You complain, but you never _had_ to help me-"

Teba spun around to face her, his face drawn and dark. "Maybe I didn't but-"

And then he froze. His yellow eyes looked past her, turning from granite to molten, and he raised wings, pacifying, yielding almost. "Okay, Rowan, can you just-"

She ignored his sudden alarm, her anger having snowballed inside of her. "Look it isn't my fault what Kass tells you or doesn't-"

"Just shush for a second-" The warrior's gaze flitted back and forth between Zelda and the path behind them.

"I'm trying to talk to you-"

Teba was not listening. " _Rowan_ -" he began.

"-you know these clothes aren't even _mine_ -"

"Dammit, shut up will you!?" Teba burst forward and seized her by the shoulders, hiss furious glare crashing down through Zelda's anger and stopping the words in her throat.

Silence fell, save the hymnal whines of the winds, and the rumbling, ominous sounds of snarls in the distance. She shuddered against the sound, and withered out of Teba's grip.

Drawing her crossbow, Zelda turned slowly towards a cluster of pines by the path. Shadows shifted among the trees, pine needles crunching in the snow underfoot, and gradually she became aware of half a dozen hungry yellow eyes emerging like spectres from amongst the trunks.

Teba seized her again, grabbing an arm and yanking her backwards. "To the Flight Range! Run!" He shouted, and before Zelda could speak, the wolves burst forward.

Lightning fast, Teba loosed an arrow in their direction. It missed, thwacking emphatically against a tree trunk. Zelda raised her crossbow, but a blur of muted blues and greys bowled her over, and half buried her in the snow.

"Rowan!" Teba shouted, but his voice was drowned out by Zelda's own shrieks and the ripping snarls of the wolf on top of her. Her vision was swallowed up by its yellow-black teeth, and she could feel the pinpricks of claws against her chest. She fumbled for her crossbow, reservations forgotten, the desperation of survival thunderous and pulsing against the inside of er skull. Instinct symphonic, Zelda pulled the crossbow's trigger and felt her right hand _burn._

She heard a yelp, and felt the wolf jolt, and watched in shock as it slumped limply at her side. No time to think. Zelda dropped the crossbow, scrambling backwards, and rolled, half-sobbing as she crawled through the snow, the snow stinging her fingers, her cheeks, her lips. _Did he see? Oh Goddess, did Teba see?_ Horror flooded Zelda when she looked down and saw - the golden mark of the Royal Crest had returned to her right hand. If someone found her; if someone saw her use her magic…!

From behind came the taunt, "Come on!", and Zelda turned to see Teba still engaged with a duo of wolves, his angular Rito bow in hand. Snarling and snapping, they circled aggressively, watching for Teba to drop his guard. They darted back and forth, a shifting blur against the stark white snow that Teba could not catch with an arrow. One, two, three he fire, all squelching in the snow. _I should run_ , Zelda thought. _I should save myself._ One of the wolves feinted, snapping at Teba's right flank. He flinched, faltering, and the wolf leapt, sinking its teeth into Teba's wing.

The warrior cried out, and Zelda looked down at the glowing crest on her hand. _No,_ she decided. _I will run no longer._

Fighting through the lingering shock and the sting of snow against her skin, Zelda crawled back to the dead wolf. She yanked her crossbow out from underneath its, and wrenched the string into its nock.

Ahead of her, Teba desperately tried to fend off the attacking wolf. With a roar, he rammed his bow into its side, the curved wood snapping under the force of the blow. But the wolf was undeterred, and yanked Teba forward. He fell, landing hard, droplets of angry red blood dotting the blanketed ground. Zelda took a deep breath, as she had seen Link do, focusing her power into the crossbow. The distance to cover was not far, but if she fired too soon, or too late, she could very well kill Teba instead of one of the wolves. _It's part of the song_ , she remembered Link explaining to her, those many weeks ago when he had taught her to meditate. _Your breath sets the rhythm._

 _Whatever you say, Hero._ Zelda exhaled and pulled the trigger.

The first wolf was thrown backwards by a golden bolt of light that tore through its chest, while the second leapt to take his packmate's place, pinning Teba once more to the ground. Mechanical, methodical, Zelda reloaded, raised the crossbow, breathed deep and fired again. Zelda cursed under her breath as the bolt grazed harmlessly by the second wolf's flank, groaning as she fought to reload the crossbow. But the beast was staggered at least, and seeing the opportunity, Teba lurched forward, pulling an arrow from his quiver. Zelda looked up to see him sink the arrowhead into the wolf's eye, before collapsing back into the soft snow.

When Teba finally looked at her - breathless and standing there with the crossbow still raised - he almost seemed to smile, and then, with a ferocity that startled her, he burst into laughter. "Well, I'll be damned…" he said as he struggled to find his footing.

Zelda marched over to him and held out a hand. "Now, what was it you said?" Her voice was acidic, victorious. "I'm too weak to go alone?"

* * *

She watched with a faint sense of awe as Teba soared out of the ravine, the ferocious updrafts launching him high above the precipice. For a moment he was silhouetted by the sun, and Zelda squinted up to see the Sheikah Slate secured at his belt, and the Master Sword clutched between his talons. She breathed a long sigh of relief, but felt it catch when she remembered the danger that she was in. _If anyone sees me with that Sword...or that Slate..._

"This just keeps getting _better_ ," Teba quipped as he handed the possessions to her.

"I can explain," Zelda said, but Teba just rolled his eyes, muttering "I'll bet."

After their tussle with the wolves, Teba had been more than happy to retrieve the Sword and Slate for Zelda. Perhaps not happy, but uncomplaining, at least.

On inspection, the Master Sword was undamaged - something Zelda decided was a good omen - but the Sheikah Slate would not turn on. Slinging the sheathed Sword loosely over her shoulder, she fiddled with the Slate and frowned when nothing happened. Insistent, and increasingly more erratic, she tapped at the screen, over and over as it stayed passively, and frustratingly blank.

"I can't be seen with these," Zelda said, giving up. She scanned the pass for any signs of life. "Do you have somewhere I can store them?"

"I've got a chest at the Flight Range," Teba answered after some thought. "And the Range is my territory. No one touches my stuff."

"Of course," Zelda muttered, and followed Teba along the path towards the shelter at the Flight Range. When she looked at his wing, she saw that it was painted with long streaks of blood, staining his white feathers in graduated hues of red and brown. "Are you in any pain?"

Teba tested his injured wing, frowning slightly as the feathers shifted, revealing new beads of blood. He shrugged. "I'll be fine."

 _Typical Warrior,_ Zelda noted.

The fire at the Flight Range was burning low; Zelda felt her skin prickle just at the sight of it. She and Teba sat huddled in close to the flames, rewarming themselves after their morning trek. While Teba preened his damaged feathers, Zelda worked again on the Sheikah Slate, poking at the screen and testing the buttons without result.

"You knew Link," the warrior said after a time. He was inspecting the broken limb of his bow, clicking his beak as he prodded the splintered wood. "The _real_ you, I mean, not this other kid you're trying to be."

It wasn't a question. Zelda thought on Kass's assurance that Teba was trustworthy, and wondered if it was reckless trusting either of them. But hadn't these two Rito saved her life? Hadn't they aided in her disguise? Still, telling them _anything_ felt dangerous. Zelda looked down to her right hand; thankfully, the Royal Crest had faded.

"What makes you say that?" she asked innocently.

The Rito nodded at the Sword still slung over Zelda's shoulder. "You're wearing his sword. Don't deny it. You can't tell me some travelling merchant had it in his stock."

The fire crackled between them, punctuating the weighty silence, and Zelda watched the wavering flames as she pondered her words. At a loss, she looked at the Sheikah Slate in her lap. It offered no help.

Eventually, all she could bring herself to say was, "I travelled with him for a time." The rest? The arguments, the jokes, the kiss? She could hardly bear to think about it. _Did any of it actually happen? Or was it another dream?_

"Is that all I'm gonna get?"

Zelda bristled. "I'm in hiding, unless you had already forgotten." She tapped nervously at the Sheikah Slate screen. _Work, damn you_. Teba's eyes were boring into her, unimpressed. "Why would I tell you anything else?" she added defensively.

"Because I know Link. That sword is part of him. And you showing up here without him? Doesn't look so good." Teba gripped his bow between his wingtips and snapped the damaged limb clean where it splintered. He was disassembling it, Zelda noted, salvaging it.

Teba tossed the broken limb in the fire. The flames consumed it readily as he spoke; "Saki says my eyesight is going, but I still see. People don't just disappear, and they don't just show up either. You want me to help you, _Rowan_? Convince me you didn't kill my friend."

Cornered, Zelda relented at last. "Fine. But it isn't my fault if you don't believe who I am."

"You know I don't care."

It took nearly an hour to explain the full story to Teba - who she really was, the day of Ganon's defeat, the envoy of Zora, the altercation in the desert, the Gerudo male who had taken Hyrule Castle, and why Link was not with her. By the time Zelda was done, Teba had completely taken down his bow and was halfway through sorting the individual components. It had begun to snow. "The Princess of Hyrule is dead, along with the rest of the Champions."

"I have certainly heard, but I believe me when I say that I am telling the truth," Zelda leant back, her tale complete. "Zelda is in danger, and Cinelgen is likely looking for her."

"Cinelgen," Teba repeated, clicking his beak, as though scorning the very word he spoke. "A male Gerudo in Hyrule Castle. More novelties." He held out a wing. "Gimme a look at that crossbow."

Zelda unclipped the weapon from her belt and passed it to him, watching as Teba turned it over. He tested the mechanism, loaded and unloaded the string, humming with interest. "Is it inherently magic or...?"

"Link made it. It can fire real bolts," Zelda explained. "Magic is just easier for me, though I would like to avoid using it."

Teba handed the crossbow back. "Get yourself some real bolts then, Rowan."

 _If I had any idea where to get them_. Zelda could _make_ bolts from regular arrows, as she had learned to do in Zora's Domain, but that too required the use of her magic. Her sudden apprehension gave her pause; she had spent so much time desperately reaching for her powers, and now she couldn't imagine being without them. Everything new and at once a contradiction, in this strange version of Hyrule she had woken up to.

Teba had returned to sorting the components of his bow - the gears, the string, the bracing. He lifted a mechanical gear to his eye, angular brow arching as he examined the threading.

"I've given you my story, Teba" Zelda clapped her hands onto her lap to punctuate having held her end of the bargain. "I want to hear yours. Kass tells me there are disappearances in Rito Village."

Teba squinted at the gear. "No."

"I beg your pardon?"

"It's sensitive information," he said.

"What _I_ told you was sensitive information!"

"And I won't tell anyone, obviously. I won't even tell my wife, if that helps you sleep." His eyes were strained, fixed on the gear, and he mouthed something to himself that Zelda could not hear.

"I know where your Rito are going," Zelda insisted. "I can help you-"

"I will manage fine on my own."

"But you won't. Kass said-"

" _I_ _don't need help_ ," Teba barked. He met her baffled gaze, his eyes simmering with fury.

Zelda looked again at the mechnical gear in his wingtips. "Don't you?" she scrambled forward and snatched from him, turning it over to read the small engraving on the side. _Harth of Lake Totori._

"What does it say?" she demanded, intent. Teba's wing shot out to snatch the gear from her, but Zelda jolted out of his reach. "What does it say!?"

"Give that here!" Teba sprang to his feet, the organised piles of metal components scattering across the floor. He wrenched the gear from Zelda's hands with such force that it stung. She watched him return to the fire, the answer clear.

"You can't read it can you?" she whispered. "You even _said_ your eyesight is failing. Why won't you let me help you? I _told_ you how dangerous it is out there. I _told_ you what is at stake."

Teba did not answer. His stony eyes gazed deep into the fire, and Zelda knew that she would no longer get through to him. _Damn you_ , she thought. _And damn you, Kass. Damn your trust. Who could ever work with this man?_

With one last huff, Zelda stood and scanned the Flight Range for the chest Teba had mentioned. There was a large trunk in the corner, its handle painted the same colour as Teba's pauldrons; a dull grey flanked by yellow and green stripes. She gently stowed the Master Sword, the crossbow, and still-broken Sheikah Slate within, not bothering to ask Teba if she had chosen the right chest, instead taking his silence as confirmation that she had. When she turned back to the fire, she spotted two figures emerging into the structure from the snowfall: a pink-feathered Rito woman leading a small white fledgeling by the wingtip. Zelda bit her lip. She could feel her blood rushing in her ears.

"Where have you been, Teba?" Saki scolded as she and Tulin approached. "We have been looking for you!"

Teba nodded in Zelda's direction. "Rowan wanted to see the Range." He gestured to the re-ordered pile of mechanical components before him. "I was about to show him how Rito bows are made."

 _True to your word at least,_ Zelda thought. She gave Teba's family a small wave, and locked eyes with Tulin, smiling with teeth bared. A threat she had learned from the wolves.

Saki nudged Tulin towards his father. "Tulin's training is your duty."

"I thought you disapproved," Teba said, awkwardly welcoming his son with an outstretched wing. "Said I was pushing him too hard."

"Well, I-" Saki stammered. "You know I fail to see the use in-"

"You _both_ disapprove," Tulin murmured suddenly, drawing bewildered glares from his parents. "I know what you think of me."

The familiarity stung. Zelda heard the sadness in Tulin's voice, and for a moment, it was her own family standing in the Flight Range. Her father, her failures, her hopelessness. She knew that it was time that she leave, to give the family some privacy and to halt her tears.

Saki caught her by the arm as Zelda walked past. "My apologies, Rowan," she sighed.

Zelda looked the Rito woman in the eye, shaking her head. "Don't worry about _me_ ," she said, and Saki recoiled, stunned.

As she began the long trek back to the village, Zelda could hear Teba and his family arguing, their voices low and strained. Her tears had nowhere to go then, and they mixed in with the melting snowflakes that fell on her cheeks.

* * *

Cinelgen had given Link a small journal with which to take notes, but so far he was not sure what to record. _I have no idea what I'm doing_ , was the first thing that came to mind. _I'm going to get myself killed_ , was the second.

He had spent the night prior wracking his brains for everything he could remember about the Guardians. They were automatons, created to protect Hyrule against Ganon, with singular purpose and deadly capability. _What are they for now that Ganon is dead?_ He had wondered. _What could they be made to do?_

Troubling thoughts. If Link succeeded, he would deliver Cinelgen a weapon that even he himself would struggle to defeat. And if he failed, he would most likely be killed. States in binary opposition, and stakes as high as could be; an environment that Link at least drew comfort from, given the familiarity of the situation.

The Guardian centred its beady eye on Link, its swirling shell pulsing with a mixture of oranges and blues. It crouched by the far wall of the Gatehouse, and pulled its in close. Huddling, defensive. _It's afraid,_ if that was possible.

"I won't hurt you," Link soothed as he approached, empty hands held out to show that he carried no weapons. _Can it even understand?_

At his flank were Inglis and a blonde Hylian woman named Aurelia, assigned to guard him during the sessions, and to rescue him the moment the Guardian turned aggressive. Both of the Hylians carried halberds, longer than a normal spear by half. Above, Cinelgen and his personal guard watched from the upper level of the Gatehouse.

The closer Link and the guards moved towards the automaton, the more it seemed to shrink against the wall. _Like a wounded animal,_ Link thought, scrunching his nose at the absurdity of the notion.

"Back up," Link waved Inglis and Aurelia away. "We're cornering it. It might lash out."

 _Animals lash out, not machines,_ Link corrected himself. But the Divine Beasts were 'machines', and Link had felt one speak to him when Zelda had inducted him as a temporary pilot of Vah Naboris. Did that make them alive? Did that make the Guardians alive?

"Any thoughts, Champion?" Cinelgen called down from the balcony.

Link kept his gaze fixed on the Guardian. If he concentrated, he could hear the gentle whirring of its gears. Its body now glowed a steady, almost straining orange-red, the light bursting from between its patterned swirls. _If it did not feel, why would it huddle like that, as if in fear?_ Confusion became curiosity, and then recklessness. "I want to approach it alone," Link said.

"Absolutely not," he replied.

"It will always be hostile if we come at it with weapons," Link countered. "We need to show that we trust _it_ before it can trust us." He turned towards Inglis and Aurelia once more, motioning for them to retreat.

Inglis looked nervously up at Cinelgen, but after a moment of thought, he brought his halberd to his side. "I agree with Link."

Beside them, Aurelia gave a long sigh. "The Champion is the expert," she conceded as she lowered her weapon. "But do not blame me if he gets himself killed."

Link took a deep breath as he squared up to the Guardian. It had not taken its eye off him. "He wouldn't be the first of his kind kill me." _And I think I'm past being afraid of death._

Above, Cinelgen's face had hardened, though the amused smile that seemed to live permanently on his lips did not fall. After a moment's consideration, the Gerudo ordered, "If it attacks, hold nothing back."

Inglis and Aurelia nodded, before pulling back to the edges of the Gatehouse arena, leaving Link alone with the Guardian. In his periphery, he could still see their shadows, ready to strike at the first sign of danger.

Breath held low in his throat, and with a shaking hand outstretched, Link took a slow step towards the Guardian.

At first, he spoke to calm his own nerves. "I'm here to apologise," he began. The Guardian did not react, and so Link took a tentative step forward. "I've killed more of your kind than I can count." Another step, and then another, closing the gulf between them. "But I believe you were made for a good purpose." Another step took him within arm's reach of the automaton. "I don't think you want to hurt people." The whole room held its breath.

He took a final step and placed a cautious hand on the Guardian's outer shell. It felt cool, with a rough texture somewhere between fine ceramic and ageing stone. But somehow there was a warmth beneath, and Link suddenly realised that the Guardian had not moved.

He looked up at its glowing eye and smiled. "Hey there, my name's Link."

Initially, the change was undetectable. Flickers in the light behind the Guardian's glowing eye, which gradually became more pronounced, more distinct. Blinking, Link realised. Random at first, but then more ordered. Purposeful. Communicative. "What are you trying to say?" he whispered, bewildered, and the Guardian's blinking intensified.

"Something's happening," Link called out, lifting his hand away from the shell, eye's locked on the Guardian. Inglis and Aurelia wasted no time, appearing at his side with their weapons ready.

"No, wait, I meant-," he tried to say, but it was too late. The Guardian retaliated against the sudden show of force, its segmented leg striking forward like a snake. Inglis was instantaneous; he caught the Guardian's barb-like foot with the point of his halberd, the sound of metal ringing discordantly in Link's ears. The automaton recoiled. Its spidery legs scrambled, pulling it halfway up the wall of the Gatehouse, and the air was filled with panicked shouts. Cinelgen's guards brought their spears to bear. Inglis seized Link by the arm, wrenching him back, Aurelia advanced on the Guardian, her halberd ready to strike. Above the chaos, ringing down clear from the parapets, Cinelgen's voice boomed. _"Control it! Shut it down!"_

Cinelgen's guards spilt down to the Gatehouse arena, immediately forming a wall of shields and spears to contain the Guardian. It blinked its eye furiously, mechanical head swivelling from left and right as it tried to track the guards' movements, its shell a riot of colour, flashing from blue to orange to pink.

" _Wait! Wait, please!"_ Link shouted, but his words word swallowed by the commotion. Desperate, he brought his elbow hard across the Inglis' face, snatching the halberd from his slackened grip and shoving through the wall of guards.

Aurelia spun on her heels to meet him, but Link jabbed the butt of his halberd into her chest. She went down, winded, gasping, and Link used the opening to throw himself in front of the panicked Guardian. At once, the wall of guards froze. They would not- _could not_ -injure Cinelgen's prize prisoner, it seemed, and Link knew he now had the upper hand. He held the halberd blade towards the wall of guards, and snarled, "No one move."

"Calm yourself, Champion!" Cinelgen called down from the parapet.

"It's _afraid,_ Cinelgen!" Link shouted back. "Didn't you listen to me!?"

"Afraid!?" Cinelgen roared, slapping his hands down onto the railing of the balcony. "It's a _machine!_ "

Was it, truly? Link threw the halberd to the ground and turned to face the Guardian. It was no longer blinking. Link looked again into its cyclops eye, searching for a small glimmer of consciousness. _Nothing_. Nothing but the dead eye of a machine that had outlived its purpose; a soldier with nothing left to fight.

 _This is folly_ , he decided. Even if he could control the Guardian, which he knew he probably couldn't, he would have no idea what to _do_ with it. But just as he was about to turn - just as he was about to announce to Cinelgen that he had given up - the Guardian began to blink once more. The same pattern repeated again, and again. Three short, three long, three short, three long. Link held out his hand, and gingerly placed it against the Guardian one last time. The pulsing lights on its shell faded to a calm, steady blue as it continued to blink the same pattern. _What are you trying to say?_

"We've done enough for today," Link said, holding his hand still. "We can come back tomorrow."

* * *

In the days that followed, Link took to jotting down observations in his journal. Once he started, he could not stop. The scratch of the pen against the paper was almost therapeutic, clearing his clouded, memory-addled mind.

Despite its occupation, Hyrule Castle was eerily quiet. People lived there, that was certain. Maybe two dozen of Cinelgen's Successors, and then another few dozen Yiga on top of that. But to an outsider, it would seem empty, and Cinelgen's number struck Link as surprisingly few. This was the group that had almost killed the Zora Prince, that had started a war, and had seemingly infiltrated nearly every race of Hyrule. _Except for the Gorons_ , Link amended, as he had not seen a single one since his arrival at the Castle a week or so prior.

He had been trying to keep count of the bandits' numbers, to track the individual races, learn the hierarchy. It was difficult - he was still a prisoner, and his exposure to the rest of Cinelgen's people came only through his sessions in the Gatehouse with the Guardian and the daily suppers the entire cohort took in the Dining Hall. During supper Link kept a low profile, his head low as his eyes surreptitiously surveyed the room, making mental notes on those around him: their facial features, their mannerisms, the snippets of conversation that came loose from slightly inebriated tongues. Any information he could collect, anything he could take in, it could all be useful. Escape. Mutiny. Insurgency. It was all on his mind; but with some chagrin he discovered that Mipha's power still eluded him, and the wounds on his chest from where Cinelgen had shot him were slow to heal. Trying to escape now would be suicide. So Link walked with calm hands and a watchful eye, wearing the disguise of the complacent prisoner.

It was always Inglis that was made to fetch Link for supper. He never spoke, only frowned and clenched his jaw, clearly none-too-pleased to be given the role of errand-boy. As the Inglis led him through the halls of the Royal Apartments to supper, Link noticed on his cheek a new ugly blotch of fading purples and reds - a bruise from where Link had elbowed him.

"Sorry about, by the way," Link said. "First the arrow to the shoulder, and then an elbow to the face."

The corners of Inglis's lips pricked into a smile. "Not many guys get to say they got beat by the Hero of Hyrule," he shrugged, and Link let out a reedy laugh.

"Probably didn't make it hurt any less,"

Inglis smiled again as he shook his head, and Link started as the sweet voice rang in his ears. _Now that the Princess is back, you're much more talkative._

Wasn't it Paya who had said that to him? On that rainy afternoon muddled among the catalogue of many rainy afternoons that Link had lived since then? _Much more talkative._ Link felt even more so now that Zelda was gone. Making up for her absence, perhaps, or taking on the mantle, assuming control; extending himself into the hollow that she had left within him. And when he spoke, he could pretend that she might hear.

Inglis led Link into the Dining Hall without fanfare. Cinelgen's Successors - Hylians, Gerudo, a handful of Rito and Zora, some dressed in plain garb and others in traditional Yiga reds - were dining at the long tables that ran the length of the room. Only a few heads turned to observe the newcomers, their chatter dipping momentarily before resuming as though nothing had happened. The Dining Hall was the most used room in the Castle, and it showed. Chairs were overturned; the wax of burned-down candles spilt onto the tables; rotting fruit was left to spoil; and the carpets were littered with crumbs, squashed food, and wine stains. _Do none of them care?_

Cinelgen was seated at the table closest to the fire, with Milagre at his side. They were talking privately, heads drawn in close, with two wide bowls of an unwelcoming brown stew before them. There was an empty place laid out for Inglis next to Cinelgen, and another set opposite the trio. _An interrogation,_ Link noted, steeling himself.

The Gerudo threw his long arms wide when he saw Inglis approach with Link in tow. "Ah, there we are! My two favourite Hylians!"

Milagre scoffed, lifting her attention from her book. " _Thanks_ ," she muttered, but a small smile lifted her face when she looked up at them. Or more specifically, when she looked at Inglis. Out the corner of his eye, Link saw the corners of Inglis's mouth twitch.

Cinelgen was beckoning them over enthusiastically. "Sit, Link! There's stew!"

As Link sat down, Cinelgen cupped his hands to his lips, his voice booming through the rowdy room. "Hana!" he called out. "More stew!"

Inglis took his place wordlessly at Cinelgen's side, and Cinelgen gave him a welcoming slap on the back, before turning his attention onto Link, eyes wide and expectant.

Link stared back, unnerved. "Why am I here?" he asked. Usually he would be left somewhere isolated, in the far corner of the room, with no dining partners save his two personal guards; a pair of untalkative and stern male Hylians who had not even bothered to tell Link their names.

" _Why is he here_?" Cinelgen repeated with a laugh. "This is family dinner." He spoke as if the words were inherent.

Link looked to Inglis and Milagre for some clarification, but Inglis's face was frustratingly blank, and Milagre had returned to her book.

There was no one to speak for him. "We're not...family?"

In response, Cinelgen clapped his hands and laughed with thunderous abandon, as though Link had told a brilliant joke. "No, no," he grinned."Can you imagine!"

Link glared at Inglis, eyes shouting the question, _what the fuck is this!?_ Inglis gave nothing back, though Link detected the slightest hint of a shrug.

"A figure of speech, Champion," Cinelgen went on, still shaking from laughter. "And an offering of friendship. You are doing great work with the Guardian, but I thought it best that we discuss. After all, we cannot..."

Link studied the Gerudo's face as he half-listened, noticing again the scars that marred his face. In fact, Mila had similar scars, and Inglis too. _Yiga training_ , Link surmised. _More brutal than any Knight's_.

The Dining Hall fell away. _When are you going to learn Link?_ There it was again, his father's voice. _You just aren't enough_. Link opened his mouth to speak, to argue, to defend himself with words rather than swords - an art that he was still learning.

 _Why can't you see I'm trying? Why do you hate me so much?_

Cinelgen clapped again, shattering Link's reverie. "There they are, the prettiest girls in all of Hyrule."

 _Debatable_ , thought Link as two young Hylian women approached the table, each carrying a bowl of stew. The elder one was in the lead - Link recognised her as Aurelia, the Yiga assigned to protect him during his sessions with the Guardian. Behind her scurried a skinny, freckle-faced girl who Link knew as Hana. She was one of the cooks, Link remembered, drawing her out of his mental catalogue of faces. She was Yiga too, by birth; Link had learned from overheard conversations that while many of the Yiga were recruits, a few were born into the clan, and were marked so by a small inverted Sheikah eye tattooed on their left wrist. Milagre had a similar tattoo, but Inglis's and Cinelgen's wrists were bare.

"Aurelia," Cinelgen smiled at the Yiga woman, revealing a line of yellowed teeth. "What a surprise."

Milagre had finally lowered her book, her brow knotted. "What are you doing here, Aury?"

The Yiga woman shrugged. "Just helping out Hana, sisterly favour." She placed a bowl down in front of Link, smiling warmly as she did, and Link noted that she too had a Yiga tattoo on her wrist. Hana had already placed her bowl down in front of Inglis and was scampering back to the kitchens.

"You should be at the Gatehouse," Milagre said sternly. "You are on duty-"

"If that thing wanted to break out, it would have by now. Lighten up a little, _Lady Secretary_ , I'll head back after supper," Aurelia teased, drawing out a scowl from Milagre. She bowed her head at the trio, and smiled again at Link, before turning to follow her sister.

"She calls me that to vex me," Milagre said to Cinelgen, her voice urgent. "You know she doesn't agree with what we did-"

Cinelgen held out a hand to silence her. A disagreement, Link noted, adding it to his list of observations. "Champion," Cinelgen said calmly, his attention returning to Link. "As I said, I brought you here to discuss your methods with the Guardian. You know I disagree."

Link shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He lifted his spoon from the table, dunking it lazily into the bowl of stew. "It needs to trust me. Having so many guards there...it doesn't help."

Cinelgen's smile fell away. "The guards are there to protect you, to prevent it from killing you."

"It's a war machine," Link explained firmly, cautious not to openly defy his Gerudo captor. "Threaten it and it _will_ kill me."

"Yes! A machine!" Cinelgen slapped the table. "Not a pet! Do you think it feels?"

 _Maybe_. Link shrugged. "I don't know. But you can't control it with threats alone."

"Can't we?" Cinelgen chuckled and leant back in his chair. "Your sympathy speaks to your status as a prisoner, but you relative freedom has made you foolhardy."

"I don't understand," Link said, unsettled by the growing smile on Cinelgen's face.

The Gerudo continued, his face darkening. "You say threats don't always work. Well, know this: if you don't do as I say, _I_ will kill you well before the Guardian does." He clapped a hand on Link's shoulder, his long fingers digging through the fabric of Link's shirt, and it took all of his will power not to wrench away. "How does that sound?"

"You just said you're trying to protect me."

"Yes, yes, smart!" Cinelgen snapped his fingers. "But do you think we _need_ you, Champion? That we based our entire plan around you?" He laughed again and placed a gentle hand on Milagre's book, gently but decisively lowering it to the table. "Be so good as to fetch them, will you Mila?"

With a huff, Milagre sprang to her feet and turned to leave. "Now who's the errand-boy?" she remarked to Inglis as she passed. Link felt his stomach churn. _Them?_ Minutes passed. Inglis was silent, spooning chunks of braised meat and soggy vegetables into his mouth, and Cinelgen sat patiently with his arms folded and his head resting against the back of his chair. Every time Link met his gaze, the Gerudo grinned, and once he even winked. Link wanted to be sick.

And then, for the first time that evening, the entire Dining Hall hushed. When Link turned to see who Mila had been sent to retrieve, his mouth fell open, the floor beneath him seeming to fall away. Were he not already seated he would have fallen to his knees.

Mila lead in two Sheikah males, instantly recognisable despite their apparent harsh treatment under captivity. One was the same age as Link, and the older elderly and frail, but both were people he had come to know well during his travels post-resurrection; Robbie of Akkala, and his son, Granté.

The prisoners were led by Mila single file by a thick rope that had been tied around their necks. The bindings around their hands were so tight that dried blood was crusted against them, and their traditional Sheikah garb was badly torn and soiled, though Robbie still wore his pair of mechanical bronze goggles. Some of the Successors jeered and laughed when they saw the Sheikah, words such as _traitors_ and _fools_ filling the room.

"Above all, Link, I would like you to work at my side," Cinelgen crooned as Milagre lead the Sheikah over to their table. "You have so much potential that you don't see. But I am a man of practicality. If you fail, I will find another way to secure what I want."

"And what is it that you _want_?" Link asked, his voice hollow, eyes fixed on the two Sheikah.

"I already told you: Hyrule and everything within." Cinelgen's frown brightened into a thin-lipped smile. "But first, let me introduce you to my new _guests_!"

"There is no need," Robbie cut in, voice raspy, a mixture of curiosity and disapproval at seeing Link _here_ , alone, and dining with their captors. "I believe Link remembers us well enough."

* * *

High above Lake Totori, the sun passed its zenith and began its descent towards the west. The lake waters shone, painted in shimmering golds and ambers, drinking in the stark winter sunlight. After a week, there was finally a second day without snow, and without clouds. Like the waters below, Zelda too savoured the sun, wishing in vain that it would never set.

Beside her, Kass raised his accordion to his chest. "I believe you are ready," he said. "Listen to the melody first, worry about the rhythm later."

Zelda held her own instrument in hand – the golden harp that Kass had given her, passed on to him by his mentor, Lexo. Kass and Zelda had spent the better part of the morning sitting together in Rito Village as he taught her the basics: how to pluck the strings, the notes that it could make. It had been slow – Zelda had precisely zero musical training – but it seemed that they could now progress to playing actual songs.

Zelda ran her fingers over the strings as she listened to the melody that Kass played for her. It was so short that he played it twice.

"Now, listen again, little sparrow," Kass instructed gently. "Feel the shape of the song, learn its character, as well as the notes."

The bard repeated the song a third time, slowly at first, but gaining speed as she learned the song. Zelda copied the melody on her harp. She focused on the rise and fall of the melody as she played – the way the song seemed caught between hopeful and sorrowful, and the way it sounded somehow ancient, the way it was...almost familiar.

"I know this song," she breathed, fingers frozen on the strings. The memory was hazy, half-forgotten, a blur of colour and noise. But the _song;_ it burned within her. "I have heard it before."

"Perhaps Lexo played it for you, in your previous life?" Kass suggested.

"Perhaps. Perhaps he did." But there was more to it than that, Zelda knew. "I've heard it recently though. In some dream or…in the back of my mind. What is it called?"

"The name is lost," Kass explained. "But Lexo knew it was connected somehow to the Royal Family. A song adrift in time."

"Time…," Zelda repeated, eyes fixed on the horizon beyond.

Kass lowered his accordion; Zelda was too lost in her musings for the lesson to continue. "My teacher once said that song is a memory made immortal," he stated. "He said that songs have an identity. A purpose."

"That sounds like Lexo," Zelda agreed with a soft laugh.

She had been in the village almost a week now. Teba either refused or was too ashamed to talk to her; so Zelda decided to use her now-abundant time to convalesce. She seemed safe, at least for the moment, and wanted to let her mind settle and recover from the chaos she had endured in the past few months. But still, she could not remain idle. It did not suit her. Zelda wrote two letters-one to Sidon and one to Buliara - informing them that she and Link were in danger and imploring them to help in any way possible. Then she entrusted the letters to Kass, who was more than happy to oblige the role of courier. "It is an ancestral occupation of ours," Kass had informed her when she finally found the courage to ask the favour. "Though there is little need for it now that Hyrule is as sparse as it is."

Their lessons done for the day, Zelda stowed her harp safely back at Kass's hut and made her way to Revali's Landing. It helped, going there. Behind Rowan's mask, Zelda had begun to fade. She was torn now, between the necessity of being Rowan and the comfort being herself. But the memories of her childhood visits to Rito Village, and the afternoons spent at Revali's Landing helped her find grounding - a medium between past and present, between alive and dead.

Zelda stood near the edge of the platform and assumed an archer's stance - or at least, what she remembered to be an archer's stance. She raised her arms, grasping an imaginary bow, pulling back the string, and took a breath.

"Straighten your back. It'll help keep your aim consistent."

Zelda slapped her arms down to her sides at the sound of the gruff voice behind her, feeling her face tingle from embarrassment. "An old friend once tried to teach me," she said as she turned to see Teba stepping out onto the Landing. "With little success."

Teba raised his eyebrows. "I didn't know the dead could teach."

"He wasn't dead at the time."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Neither were you."

"Did you just come to argue or…?"

"No, actually," Teba said as met her at the Landing's edge. He stared long and hard at the horizon, squinting and scowling, as if offended by what he saw. There was a new bow at his back, Zelda noticed. It was smaller, strangely, and was painted white and gold. "I suppose you're waiting for an apology," he said.

"I'm not waiting for anything from _you_."

Teba chuckled, the sound still awkward, like a muscle untested or a song only half-known. And there was _fondness_ underneath, so unexpected that it startled her. "I deserved that." He folded his arms over his chest and sighed. "And I am sorry if that matters to you. No old warrior likes being shown he's lost his edge, but I should have listened. You're just trying to help."

He uncrossed his arms and reached for his bow, muttering under his breath, but still, she heard: _"For some reason."_

"You said you were Link's friend," Zelda ventured, quietly admiring the bow. She placed a hand on the crossbow at her hip, having been unable to part with it since the fight with the wolves. "Well, I was too. And I'm just trying to do what he would have done."

"I don't think that kid would have sassed me _quite_ the way you have, but I get what you're saying." Teba raised the bow and pulled the string back to his chin.

"New bow?"

"Not quite." He gently released the tension in the string, and made a small adjustment to one of the gears. "It's a training bow. For fledgelings."

"I suppose you'll have to make do, what with your other bow broken."

Teba laughed again, and Zelda wondered if she would ever get used to the sound. He held out the bow to her. "You really think I'd take a fledgeling bow? It's yours, Rowan."

"W-what!?" she stammered, but Teba was pressed the bow into her hands.

Teba continued as Zelda examined the weapon, her fingers running over the painted wood. "Found it in Harth's workshop. He calls them Sparrow bows. They fire quick, have a light draw weight. And I remembered that nickname Kass has for you and I couldn't resist. Consider it my apology proper."

"But I've-" Zelda tried to protest, unsure how to process the act of kindness. "I've already got a bow."

"A slow, poorly-made crossbow." Teba reached down to unclip the crossbow from her belt. He flipped it over, brows knotted. "But you have no bolts, and you rightly want to avoid using your magic. I can teach you to use a real bow instead."

His change of heart still bewildered her, and Zelda cautioned herself not to accept kindness so readily. _It could be a trap. It could always be a trap_. "I don't understand," she blurted. "You're going to teach me? But-"

"Listen, Rowan. _Something_ is going on with my people. Maybe it's connected to your Cinglen or Cinnel-whatever, but I've got a lead I intend to follow. And you were right, Hebra is dangerous." He handed back the crossbow, though Zelda was reluctant to take it. She slung the Sparrow bow over her shoulder, freeing her hands to receive the crossbow once more before reattaching it to her belt. "I need someone who knows what's going on beyond Lake Totori. And you've got a good eye. Hone that aim a little, and you'll have no trouble defending yourself."

"But what of Vah Medoh? Do you know what state it's in?" Zelda pressed, ignoring the urge to correct Teba with the fact that she already _could_ well defend herself. _Link saw to that_ , she recalled sadly.

"I'll be honest I've been too afraid to check. But I've seen no movements from it, and as far as I know, it's been left alone since the attack on Ganon."

 _Safe for now then,_ Zelda thought. "And this lead?"

Teba rolled his shoulders as he began to speak, as though explaining himself were a chore. "Some of the Rito are disappearing, for a few hours or days at a time. I think it's suspicious, but no one believes me besides Kass, and he already helps as best he can. The Rito like their isolation, their _freedom_ , Rowan. They like not _thinking_ about things. Even Kaneli dismissed my concerns."

 _The old owl,_ Zelda recalled. Elder Kaneli was the leader of Rito Village; Kass had introduced her a few days prior. At the time, Kaneli had shared information with Kass that she had been able to overhear. _We have heard troubling news, Kass_ , the old owl had said. _Reports of fighting in Lanayru, of Zoran soldiers marching towards Gerudo._

She shook the troubling news from her mind and refocused her attention on Teba, who was continuing his explanation. "One of the guys that went missing - Rylen - I heard him talking to Toten about a Rito named Yahn, saying that he was travelling through Hebra and that they never knew where to meet him. Yahn is the next link in the chain, I'm sure of it. If the Rito are going to the Castle like you say, then this is how we find out."

" _Travelling through Hebra_?" Zelda's eyes went wide. "Hebra is enormous!"

"I know. But I also know Yahn. And I think I'd know where he'd go."

"An old friend, then?"

Teba did not answer. He looked down at his feet and folded his wings across his chest again. Zelda could tell that question brought him pain.

"Yahn was my apprentice," he admitted with a frown. "Many years ago."

"But Kass said you never had an apprentice…."

"Kass weaves his tales," Teba warned. "He omits the bad parts. Keep that in mind when you sing his songs."

Zelda clutched her hands to her chest as she processed the information. Disappearances, suspicious conversations, people in denial of the problem; it was uncomfortable in its familiarity. On the horizon, she caught sight of Hyrule Castle and its ruined towers. _An expedition into Hebra_ , she thought, determination stirring in her chest, accompanied by a sensation that was now foreign, forgotten almost; with a small smile, Zelda realised that it was _excitement._

Beside her Teba was shifting from foot to foot, talons clicking on the wood. "I'll understand if you say no."

But Zelda had already decided. She had seen Rito at Hyrule Castle, and she had heard Cinelgen's plans. If he were trying to sow discord at Lake Totori, then she would find out, and she would put a stop to it. _This is my kingdom,_ she thought as she gazed at Hyrule Castle. _And_ _I_ will _take it back._

In acceptance of his offer, Zelda extended a hand to Teba, adding, "You aren't the travelling partner I would have chosen."

Teba huffed, a sardonic smile crossing his features. "Oh yeah? Well, I'd not have chosen you either, _Sparrow_ ," And with a firm grip he shook her hand.

* * *

Three short. Three long. Three short. Three long. Link scribbled down the pattern into his notebook.

… - - - … - - -

The Guardian blinked the pattern at Link again. It had not stopped since he entered the Gatehouse with Inglis and Aurelia.

Despite his initial success, progress with the Guardian had hit a standstill. Nothing he could say or do seemed to get through to it. It allowed him to approach, to place a hand on its outer shell, but if Link tried anything else it either refused to cooperate, or would panic and lash out. During one session, Link had spent the entire time trying to get the Guardian to follow him around the room, to no success. In another, he had approached it slightly too quickly, and now nursed a fearsome black and red bruise on his arm from where its powerful leg had struck him.

But he was certain now that the Guardian was trying to communicate. His problem was that he knew absolutely nothing about the Guardians beyond their capabilities as fighters, and the only two people who might were entirely out of Link's reach. Robbie and his son had been thrown in the Lockup, and Cinelgen outright refused to let Link visit them. And Zelda - well Link couldn't be entirely sure where she was, though he sensed somehow that she was safe.

Link looked back at the Guardian. "I'm sorry," he frowned. "I just don't know what to do."

The Guardian was unaffected; its blinking continued. Inglis was stood at Link's side, gazing in awe up at the flickering of the Guardian's eye.

"You think it means something?" he asked.

"I wish I knew," Link sighed dejectedly. Above them Cinelgen watched from the parapets, his mouth smiling but his eyes repeating the threat; you fail, and you die.

 _I need to talk to Robbie_ , Link determined. _That is my only chance._

Link looked down at his notebook and began to flip through the pages.

* * *

At long last, on the day of their departure, the Sheikah Slate flickered back to life. Zelda hugged it to her chest, embracing it as though it were an old friend. Collecting herself, she hurriedly pulled Link's snowquill gear from the inventory and pulled on the downy material as Teba organised their packs by the Flight Range fire. They would travel on foot, the Hebra wilderness being too mountainous for a horse to be of any use. Kass had seen them off from the village; he had decided that if Zelda was beginning her travels again, he ought to do the same. The bard encouraged her to practice with her harp if she could, and promised to do his best to deliver the letters.

Zelda hummed the song he had taught her as she did one final check over her things. She had been practising it, _learning its character_ , as Kass had instructed, but no matter how many times she played it or how hard she reflected, she could not remember where she had heard it.

Everything was in place. The Sheikah Slate was latched at her hip, hidden under a red and white Rito sash. The golden harp was stored in its case, tucked safely into her pack. The crossbow had been left in Teba's chest, no longer of much use, replaced by the Sparrow bow that she wore on her back. And the Master Sword...

Zelda held the lid of the chest open, taking one last look at Link's sword. She reached down to run a thumb over the patterned hilt, idly humming the song again, and from the Sword, she felt a radiating _warmth_.

She snapped her hand away. How could it be warm, stored here in half-frozen Hebra? Cautiously, Zelda wrapped her hand around the hilt, feeling a strange tension in her arm, as if the Sword were resisting her.

The warmth had receded, but then so had her confusion. " _The song!_ " she gasped. Zelda began to sing the ancient song again, clear and crisp as she could, and as if on cue the Sword warmed in her grip.

"The hell are you doing?"

Teba's voice snapped her out of her trance.

"Nothing, nothing," Zelda assured him, hurriedly shutting the chest. "Just checking the lock. I am ready to go when you are."

"Good. We need to get moving. I want to make it to the South Summit by nightfall."

Zelda pushed the ancient song from her mind. She fetched her pack, pulled her warm new gloves down at the wrists, and followed Teba out into the Hebra wilderness.

* * *

The last light of the evening had receded, draping his bedchamber in shadow. Link lit a lamp and returned to waiting patiently for the telltale sound of footsteps outside his door signalling Inglis's suppertime approach. He shivered. The cold had infiltrated every part of the Castle; every room and every nook, embedding itself under Link's skin, in the backs of his eyes, in his very blood. It did not help that Link still had no proper winter garb. He had managed to steal a hooded vest from the side of a Hylian who had fallen asleep at supper and had convinced Inglis to find him a pair of gloves at least, but other than that he had to suffer through the cold in little more than his trousers and cotton shirt.

Link held his notebook in hand and ran through the plan again. It was a gamble. It was a guess, based on a single look and a faint memory of hearing bickering between Inglis and Milagre. When Link had realised that it reminded him of his fights with Zelda, he knew he had to be right; if love sounded like anything, it was an argument. In his notebook was written the only proof, an observation he had written the evening prior; _Milagre and Inglis don't sit together, but they want to._

It had only occurred to Link recently that Cinelgen might plan on going through his notebook; to seek out traitorous musings or eek some information out of him. He began to keep his notes vague. Few names, just descriptors, no dates or times either. The Gerudo could not punish him for taking notes. And if he thought that Link would not be constantly scheming for a way to escape the Castle, then he was as foolish as he was cruel.

At last, the footsteps approached, and Link leapt to his feet. There were low voices outside; his guards conversing with the visitor and giving the approval to enter. It was as Link expected. The door opened, and Inglis entered, ready to escort Link yet again to 'family dinner'.

Link caught the Hylian by the arm, fingers just tight enough to make the threat clear - a trick he had learned from Cinelgen the night before. "I've something to show you before we go," he said.

For a moment Link thought Inglis might refuse. But he just he sighed, as if having been expecting this, and said: "What is it?"

Link led Inglis over to his tiny window that overlooked Western Hyrule. He peered at the silhouette of Vah Medoh, only just visible through the snow.

"You're going to help me speak with Robbie," Link said, unphased when Inglis returned his demand with dumbfounded silence. _Good_ , thought Link. _Better that than he runs straight to the guards._ He explained himself further, "Cinelgen has put the Sheikah in the cells, and won't let me visit. Perhaps he's stubborn, or just doesn't understand, but Robbie _knows_ about Guardians. He is valuable."

Inglis shook his head. "Cinna understands. He likes testing people."

 _He wants to see if I fail,_ Link noted. _And I will without Robbie._ "You are Cinelgen's friend. The guards listen to you. I need you to-"

Inglis began to back away from the window. "I won't go behind Cinna's back-"

"I don't want to threaten you, Inglis," Link said gravely. He couldn't afford for Inglis to panic. It would draw the attention of the guards.

"Oh, really?" Inglis's face suddenly twisted, his hands balling into fists. "Well, I can handle another bruise."

 _He misunderstands._ "That isn't what I meant," Link reached out to place a pacifying hand on Inglis's shoulder.

"Is that all you knights do?" Inglis snapped, springing away from Link." _Hurt people_?"

His face had gone red, and he was shaking, knuckles white. Link had hit a nerve, somehow, tapping into some pain that he had not anticipated was there. He took a deep breath, the words reluctant, but necessary; "I need you to help me. I know about you and Milagre, and I know you're trying to hide-"

The rest was crushed under the force of Inglis' fist as it connected with Link's jaw, and he was blinded, crumbling to the floor, so stunned that he almost giggled. Link opened his eyes and saw the ceiling.

"Is that a yes?" he asked, still dazed.

Inglis glared at him, suddenly calm. He sighed; a long, drawn out breath, and Link wondered what on _earth_ had caused the boy so much pain. "It is." Inglis frowned. "I'll help you." And he turned to leave.

"What's going on in there?" one of the Link's guards asked as Inglis passed.

"Nothing," Inglis told them. "This one has just decided that he doesn't want supper."

As Link lay on the ground, pain blossoming in his right cheek, he could not help but smile. The gamble had paid off.

 _You see, Cinna? Violence doesn't always work,_ Link imagined himself saying. But the victory subsided, and his pride had begun to fade into a deep shame at manipulating Inglis with his schemes. _Violence is easy,_ Link would tell Cinelgen when he saw him next. _Words can do so much worse._

* * *

 _In quiet moments, they pause, and wonder: how did I get here?_

 _The Princess feels the crunch of snow under her feet and calls out again to the Rito warrior walking ahead of her. How much further, she wants to ask, but is afraid of the answer. Instead, she asks, are you okay? The Rito looks back and smiles, and the Princess feels a small thread of trust between them. Don't worry about me, Sparrow, the Rito answers._

 _The Knight stands at the door of the Gatehouse, writing down observations and thoughts. Can it speak? He asks himself, as he looks upon the automaton. Does it have a name? The Knight decides it should. So he chooses one that reminds him of the Kingdom he and the Guardian once belonged to and names it after the man who called for the automaton's unearthing. I'll call him Rhoamet, the Knight scribbles in his journal._

 _By sunlight they don't think about each other much, their minds preoccupied with their newfound facades and the deliberateness with which they now live. But once the starlight gradually emerges, their thoughts travel halfway across the country, leaping over mountains and ravines to places imagined and once known. The Princess runs her hands through her curtailed hair, and tests the draw weight of her Sparrow bow, shivering against the Hebra air; the Knight sits silently at 'family dinner', and plans his next session with the Guardian, his fingers padding the bruise on his chin._

 _In these quiet moments, when they are their true selves and not the personas they have become to survive, the Princess and Knight think of each other._

 _I wonder how he is. I wonder how she's doing._

 _I wonder what they would say, if they could only see me now._

* * *

 **A/N: I feel I cannot apologise enough for the delay on this chapter! I should be sticking to at _least_ weekly updates from now on. To the guest review who couldn't see Chapter 8, you may need to clear your cache? I have no idea, but that's what sometimes works for me.**


	13. Trust

To the untrained eye, the Eastern Reservoir appeared empty, its waters so still they could be mistaken for ice. The cold that came with the onset of winter didn't reach under Sidon's scales. There was too much salt within, thickening his blood, deterring the crystals that would dig their way underneath and seek to push him out.

The other Zora were not so tough-skinned as him. Even Sidon felt the weight of their weariness in his chest. His people huddled and shivered, and soon their grief breached that broad, thick wall that Sidon had made around himself. He thought it had been made impenetrable by a century of mourning; of wondering why his sister had left them, why his father wept every evening, and why the crown destined for him never seemed to fit. In years past, Sidon would smile, ball his fist, and face the grief that pervaded his home with nothing but positivity, and optimism, and _hope_. It was all he could do to survive.

But now… now, it was too much. The Gerudo attack had torn his people asunder like fish ripped from the waters and left to flail and drown in the sun.

One hundred years of peace bordering on tedium and then, the attack – unfeeling, uncaring – a dozen arrows pinning the King to his throne and a sharpened blade slicing his throat. Blinded, Sidon had torn every bandit that he could catch to pieces, waking with bloodied hands and salt-filled eyes to the sound of his father's voice.

Too fast. _Vah Ruta. My daughter. Where is my Mipha_? The last words of a sundered King. The Prince had gone to Vah Ruta then and had submerged her within the Eastern Reservoir where no bandit or Zora could reach her. As the fullness of understanding began to take hold, his hand shaking as he held it to Ruta's main terminal, Sidon could have sworn he had felt the Divine Beast weep.

Too soon. The Prince retreated. Both within himself, and to places that no one else in the Domain could reach. The Council had taken over the Domain in the interim. They declared war on the Gerudo on the day of the attack, dispatching word to the envoy in the desert, and Sidon found himself somehow in terrible agreement. "Do what you must," he told his Council and pushed this 'war' from his mind.

Soon the Zoran envoy had returned, with two of their number dead and a third missing. From that moment Zora's Domain ceased to exist. Any foreigners within the city were evicted. Trade with outsiders was halted. No one entered the Domain and no one left.

At the centre of this chaos, however, Sidon found a pearl of positivity; his sense of faith that his people, and his home, could always endure. But faith was not enough, and his pain was holding firm. Sidon had known courage. He had met its personification. But he could not find its fullness within himself.

At least he had Vah Ruta. Surveying the Eastern Reservoir one last time, Sidon watched dawn break over the glimmering plateaus and etched mesas of Lanayru. Bracing himself, he leapt into the freezing waters.

As he pushed further below the surface, a faint constellation of pulsating blue lights came into view until Sidon reached the gargantuan form of the Divine Beast Vah Ruta. He swam in through the archways of the stern and immediately made for the Main Control Unit. When he placed hand a hand against the terminal, Sidon heard the voice as if spoken from some great depth within himself.

 _Prince of the Zora. You return._

No time to talk just yet – no way to speak through the water. Sidon closed his eyes and _pulled_ ; the inner mechanics of Vah Ruta whirred and pushed against the frozen waters, and together, Prince and Beast rose through the Reservoir until they surfaced into the morning light.

"Good work, Vah Ruta, and good morning," he called out as the waters drained. "Run a diagnostic for me, would you?"

 _I am functional. I report nothing else._

"Wonderful, wonderful to hear." Sidon walked into the central chamber and placed a hand on one of the sub-terminals. "No signs of Malice anywhere?" he asked.

 _None since I was cleansed by the Champion and the Keeper._

"Keeper? You mean the Princess?"

 _I do._

"Tell me about this new title of hers. I have not heard it."

 _It is not new. She keeps the Three._

"… I see," Sidon said, not seeing. Then the Beast spoke of its own volition.

 _Where are they? You seek them._

Sidon sighed. "I do not know, Ruta. But I have faith that Link and Zelda are well."

The Beast sensed his apprehension.

 _If it is as you say._

Confident that Vah Ruta was safe and unharmed, Sidon left her floating by the docks of the Reservoir and made his way slowly back to Zora's Domain. The Beast's last words to him lingered, simmering amongst his idle thoughts. Sidon had never considered that Link and Zelda might be in peril. In fact, he had forgotten them entirely in the month since the attack. But now they were present once more, bringing a wave of longing and loneliness, as well as a simple, almost inherent question: _are they involved somehow, in this war?_

Too complex. Champions went, and trouble followed. Sidon had avoided the Council Chamber, content to his cowardice. But no more. His friends needed him.

The Chamber at Zora's Domain was uproarious, but when Sidon entered the room, the silence ached.

"Morning's welcome," Sidon smiled at the reverent faces; old Zora, young Zora, all noble and dripping in jewellery - with Muzu at the centre, a force of his own around which the rest of the Domain crumbled.

Muzu grinned with thin lips. "We were _just_ talking about you."

Sidon remembered the shouts that he had heard from the hallway and feeling the appraising eyes of the Council upon him did not let his smile drop. "Wonderful," he said, and the whole room took a breath.

Muzu waved him over to the war table. "Come, we were discussing potential angles of attack," A map of Hyrule had been laid out, drawn on a large square of yellowed parchment.

When Sidon approached, the Councillors parted, bowing their heads as he passed. "Attacks? Surely we have no need for more violence," the Prince cautioned.

Muzu gave a desultory flick of the fin. "A figure of speech, of course." He addressed the Councillors in a gravelled voice, honed by age. "Now, Councillors, I believe the Domain has spent enough time on convalescence. We must act. I have dispatched a new envoy to secure the newly-constructed Geldarm Bridge-"

"You said attacking was a metaphor," Sidon rose from the map to face the Council. Beside him, one of the younger diplomats bristled, hands crossed impatiently at his chest.

"You think we should just let them go unpunished?" the diplomat challenged. The jewels hung from his dorsal fin tinkered as he spoke.

"Allow me to finish, Sidon," Muzu said firmly. "And thank you, Farlo, you are right. The Gerudo will answer, but a direct attack is unnecessary."

The Councillors whispered and nodded, but the more Sidon looked at the map, the less sure he was of this 'war'. The first attack had been on Vah Ruta, perhaps with the intention to seize her. But the second - it had been so sudden and unprovoked, and the bandits hadn't gone anywhere _near_ Vah Ruta. The Beast's question was on his mind; _where are Link and Zelda?_ If they were involved, and Sidon felt somehow that they were, there had to be more to the Gerudo attack.

"Listen - we ought to wait." Sidon met each Councillor's gaze and saw their apprehension. "We should try to find the Princess and the Champion. We could use their aid, and we know they were in the desert with the envoy."

"Those two are too busy with their lover's quarrel to help us," scoffed Farlo. He had been with the Zoran Envoy as well, Sidon remembered and was among the last to see the Hylian duo.

"Are you aware of their whereabouts, then?" Sidon demanded. "As a diplomat, you should know their value." He towered over the diplomat, and in taking a step towards him, saw Farlo's marble glare turn to water.

"Well, I-it was a stressful time. That fool Ambassador had been _taken_ , by a Gerudo no less, and-"

Sidon turned his attention back to Muzu. "And what action has been taken to find her? Where did she go!?"

The mumblings from the Council amounted to a collective shrug. "To the desert, of course," Muzu offered.

"As a hostage," Farlo added.

"And have the Gerudo made any demands?" Another ripple of mumblings. _No_ , Sidon surmised. Sidon threaded his tongue through his teeth in frustration and eyed the map again. Like the Hylians, they had no idea of the Ambassador's location. Why take her and make no demands?

"Call it off," Sidon ordered, eyes set square on Muzu. "Something does not add up. We are diving headlong into a conflict that we do not understand."

Shouts rang out in the chamber. _Our King is dead! What is there to understand?_

Muzu spoke softly and calmly, but his words sent a shockwave through the chamber, and soon all were listening to the old advisor. "We will not sit idle. Hyrule must see our strength."

"No. If the Gerudo retaliate, we are outnumbered, and vulnerable." Sidon could feel allegiance in the room shift towards the advisor, but he held firm. " _Call it off_."

Muzu returned intensity with assurance. "I'm afraid I cannot do that, Your Grace."

"I am the _king_ ," Sidon snapped. "That is an order!"

"Oh Sidon," Muzu sighed, a chuckle escaping his lips. "Where is your political education? We never officiated your title. The Council has elected me as Regent until the war effort is over."

Sidon glared at his father's advisor. "Usurper," he snarled, and the Council tensed.

"Careful now, Sidon, let us not venture into the realm of treason. I _am_ Regent, after all."

Sidon looked at the Council, their eyes now blank and foreign. They had not looked upon him with reverence, he realised, but embarrassment, and second-hand shame. "You allowed this?" he asked them weakly.

" _You_ allowed this, Sidon," Muzu countered. "What was it you said? _Do what you must_?" He circled the table with his hands behind his back, eyes fixed on the map, and the Councillors shifted around him. Muzu tapped a webbed finger to the place on the map marked _Ruta's Plateau_ , and said,"The Domain is safe under my rule, now it is time to have our retribution. And for that, Sidon, I require your assistance."

* * *

Teba regarded the Sheikah Slate with apprehension, as though the Sheikah eye on its back could bear witness to his secrets. "I'll be honest with you Rowan; it's a bit unsettling." They were stood together atop Talonto Peak, a spiral-cut hill with a single, towering pine at its peak and an outcrop that extended out over the ravine below. They were now three days into their journey and had seen no sign of any other travellers; Zelda was finally confident that it was safe to use the Sheikah Slate without the risk of being seen.

She peered up from the screen and lowered the Sheikah Slate from her face. "I'm just doing a remote diagnostic. Think of it as taking a photo."

Teba's concerned expression held. "I don't know what that is."

Ignoring him, she raised the Slate once more, holding it in the direction of Divine Beast Vah Medoh. A schematic of the Beast's mechanical body was displayed on the screen. _Worse_ , she noted with some dismay. _Much worse._

In the days after she and Link had defeated Ganon, Zelda had run remote diagnostics on all four of the Divine Beasts. Each of them beside Vah Ruta had reported being in good working order; functional, secure and at the time, without a registered pilot. But now Vah Medoh seemed in a similar state as Ruta once was; low power, teeming with Malice, and now releasing a distress signal. And to make matters worse, Zelda and Teba were walking _away_ from the Beast, hiking on foot through the frozen mountainsides and deep ravines of Hebra.

"Well, damn," Teba sighed, drinking in the sights. "It's all visible from up here."

And it was; Lake Totori to the south, the Hebra Mountains to the north, and to the east, the crumbling Hyrule Castle. Zelda looked down from the peak at the now distant Lake Totori and the pillar of rock that rose out of it, onto which Rito Village had been quite literally bolted. From this distance, Vah Medoh shone, the luminescent etchings beginning to light up along the Divine Beast's ancient body as the afternoon began to wane. Zelda followed the colossal bird's line of sight towards Hyrule Castle, and felt an ephemeral _pull_ ; something magnetic, calling her to action.

She looked down at her Sheikah Slate and wondered if perhaps now she could rescue Link. She could teleport into the Shrine under the Castle, find him, get him out and teleport back to Hebra. It could be so simple.

"If you're thinking of a Hyrule Castle Day Trip, I'd advise against it."

Teba too was now appraising the ruined Hyrule Castle, his eyes hard and critical. Had he read her thoughts?

"I know it's dangerous but-"

"But you have absolutely no intel, that's what." Teba cautioned, and Zelda remembered what Kass had told her. _He's a strategist, through and through_. "Even _if_ Link is still there, which you admitted you don't know, you have no idea where he's being kept. That Slate can get you out of trouble, but _you_ can't get you out of trouble. If you lose the Slate, you've lost your way out, and you've dropped it in the hands of your enemy."

Zelda re-stowed the Sheikah Slate, accepting the truth of what Teba had said. But beyond his arguments, she realised, she accepted her own fear.

"So what do you suppose I do then?" Zelda pressed, unnerved by her own apprehension. _Link would not hesitate to rescue me._

"I'm still working on that," Teba admitted. "One thing at a time, Sparrow."

He turned back towards Hebra, and walked out onto the outcrop, peering long and hard across the rise and fall of the mountains. Zelda took a moment to rest, crouching low to ease the pain in her aching legs. The excitement of journey into Hebra had been quickly replaced by a quiet regret at realising she had neither quite the strength nor endurance for the long hikes and climbs.

"Where to next?" she asked, a little afraid to hear the answer.

"North. We'll walk back down in the morning."

Zelda frowned, rubbing the ache from her legs. "So why did we climb _up_?"

Teba pointed forwards, across the long ravine that lay beneath Talonto Peak. Zelda stood and met him on the outcrop, squinting against the harsh light of the setting sun. At the next crest over, a hut was nestled into the snow, its presence made known by no more than a thin line of smoke rising from its chimney, dissipating into the hazy sunset.

"A friend of mine lives there. She travels around Hebra quite a bit," Teba explained. "No point dropping in if she isn't home."

The first stop in their journey; as Zelda surveyed the hut, she noticed that it was built at the edge of a series of steep, smooth slopes. Zelda opened her mouth to speak, to ask, _what is your friend doing all the way out here_ , when, from behind them, she heard a muffled sniffle.

Both Teba and Zelda turned to see a small white fledgeling emerging from behind the pine tree, carrying a small and overstuffed pack.

" _Tulin!?_ " Teba growled. "How long have you been following us!?"

"I'm sorry, Father," the boy whimpered. "I just didn't want to be left behind. I wasn't sure how to tell you. But then it got so cold." Zelda saw that his eyes were slick with budding tears, and drooping from exhaustion.

"You cannot come with us, Tulin," Teba placed a wing on the fledgeling's chest and began to push him back along the path. "It isn't safe for you. Go back to your mother."

Tulin would not budge. " _No_! I know you think I'm not strong enough! But I'm getting stronger!"

Teba heaved a long, fatigued sigh, and knelt before his son. "I know me leaving without you is confusing but—"

"It isn't confusing. It's _unfair_." Tulin insisted. "I thought _I_ was your apprentice, Father. Not her."

"Tulin, I need you to go back home." Teba placed a pacifying wing on his son's shoulder, his words gentler than they could have been. "I'm sure your Mother is looking for you."

But Tulin shook his head, and Zelda saw Teba's expression darken when the boy said, "She isn't. I don't even know where she is."

"What do you mean?"

"She left just after you did," Tulin answered innocently. He was plying the strap of his pack tight between his wingtips, shivered slightly against the chilly afternoon winds.

Teba tightened his grip on Tulin's shoulder. "I need you to be honest with me."

"I am! She was gone for hours before I decided to try to find you."

 _Oh no...It can't be._ "Teba…" Zelda began.

"Tulin, do _not_ lie to me." Anger had started to thread itself into Teba's voice, but Tulin stood defiant, the tears beginning to roll down his cheek.

"I'm not lying. I _never_ lied!" Frantic, he pointed to Zelda. "That girl has a mark on her hand, I saw it. And I'm not lying about Mother either!"

"Teba, I think he's telling the truth…" Zelda pressed, feeling a strange numbness in the place of shock.

The Rito warrior suddenly stood and marched over to her, speaking in a harsh, almost threatening whisper. "You expect me to believe my _wife_ is involved in all this."

"I don't know," Zelda admitted. "But we are here to find out…" she looked at Tulin, who was staring at them with wide, hopeful eyes. He was no longer the little brat who had almost gotten her found out, but rather a lost young child, desperate to be accepted. Zelda left Teba on the outcrop and knelt down before Tulin, giving him a warm smile. She shot Teba a glance that said, _don't interfere._

"You made it all the way here yourself?" she asked. Tulin nodded, sniffling as new tears formed in his eyes.

"That was very brave of you," she went on. "These mountains are dangerous."

Tulin nodded again. "I followed you the whole time. I wanted to turn back, but then it got dark…"

"I understand," Zelda said gently. "But it's okay to be afraid, little one."

Tulin's face dropped. "Mother calls me that. I _hate_ it. The girls tease me for my size."

"How about brave one then? I don't think any of Kass' daughters could have done what you have." Zelda looked back to Teba, word coy and clipped. "What do you think, hm? Hasn't he been brave?"

Teba gave her a dark look, and all he said was, "We're taking him home in the morning."

" _No!_ " Tulin cried, but Teba was unmoved. Zelda smiled at Tulin once more. "Stay here," she whispered and returned to Teba.

"I know it's dangerous," she said in a low voice, an acknowledging hand on Teba's injured wing. "But do you think he's safer there than here? He says Saki wasn't watching him."

"He could have been lying-"

"Does it matter? He made it this far, so clearly she wasn't." Zelda crossed her arms over her chest, looking up at him, defiant despite the way he towered over her. "And Teba, listen to me. I know _exactly_ how he's feeling. I _know_ what it's like to be a disappointment, to not understand _why_ you can't just be what is expected of you." Teba opened his beak to protest, but she continued. "You can push him away now, and again, and again after that before you start taking him seriously. But he will remember each time. And he _will_ wonder why you seemed to hate him so."

"And what makes you so sure?" Teba growled.

"Because I had a father once, Teba. One much like yourself." She looked at Tulin again. "But he's your son. It's your decision."

Teba glared down at her, but she stood firm, surprised by her determination. At last, the Rito relented; "We will decide in the morning," he said coolly, ignoring Tulin's small, joyful cry. "For now, help me make a fire."

Tulin set about dutifully to his task, and Zelda collapsed down to the ground, weak as water. She was exhausted; in body, and in spirit.

* * *

Tulin was awake before either Teba or Zelda rose, and Zelda guessed that the poor boy had likely barely slept. He was knelt by their fire, gently coaxing the flames back to life, and smiled weakly when he saw that they were awake.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get it going any sooner, Father," Tulin said, motioning to the fire. Teba seemed to smile, kneeling down to help his son with his task. He looked to Zelda.

"We wouldn't be the ones complaining," he quipped.

Zelda feigned offence. "Oh, my mistake for being born without feathers," she retorted, and Tulin giggled.

The fledgeling fidgeted as they breakfasted in silence on cured meat and mushroom skewers, eating little and fighting a second round of sniffles. Afterwards, as they readied their packs, he took extra care to sort his belongings. And when they were finally ready to move on, he would not rise from his seat by the fire.

"What are you doing, Tulin?" Teba asked.

"I'm sorry," Tulin said, crestfallen. "I'm just not ready to go home yet. It was…it was so exciting following you."

"Well hurry up then," Teba urged as he began to make his way down the mountain. "We can't have you fall behind."

Tulin's face lit up, and he leapt to his feet, pack slung deftly over his shoulders. He was at his father's side in an instant, the more enthusiastic traveller of the duo.

"I knew you'd let me come with you!" he beamed.

"Yeah well, thank me by keeping up." Teba reached down to ruffle Tulin's feathers, eliciting another round of giggles from the fledgeling. Zelda smiled and followed close behind. _It's a start_ , she thought.

* * *

The mechanical goggles whirred as each eyepiece moved independently, the pin-prick irises examining what they saw with a cold, analytical certainty. Below, Robbie's mouth was pressed into a thin-lipped scowl. In the dim light, Link caught sight of splattered dried blood on the goggles, crusted and peeling, and a yellowed bruise ageing on Robbie's cheek. Likely the tale of the capture of the Sheikah researcher and his son was a lively one.

"You are sure then," Robbie frowned. He pressed close against the bars of his cell. "The Princess is alive?"

Link closed his eyes, extending his awareness to somewhere beyond. He'd felt it the day before; a small, persistent tug from the centre of his back, so faint that it almost didn't register. The Sword had sensed her, and it sang the song of her presence. "Yes, definitely," Link concluded, re-opening his eyes.

"Really?" came the breathless question from the next cell over. Larella, Ambassador of the Zora, was still interred in the Lockup. "How can you be sure?"

Link clenched his jaw and eyed the ground. _I just am_ , he wanted to say, but the more he thought about it, the more he wondered if it was more wishful thinking than some sixth sense.

Robbie exhaled a long sigh. Beside him, Granté was propped up against cell bars, both eyes blackened, his hair hanging in greasy streaks about his hollowed cheeks. Robbie looked down at his son, his harsh scowl softening into a weak smile. "We mustn't fret over the Princess. She has been on her own before."

Link saw that Granté's eyes were glassy and vacant. The Sheikah had barely reacted to Link's arrival in the Lockup, eyes set catatonically forward. "What happened to him?" he asked.

"They captured Granté first," Robbie explained. "Starved him, trying to make him reveal my location. They've had him for months, in a camp in Akkala. He managed to send me a letter somehow, begging for me to hide. But when I heard they had my son..." Robbie ran a hand through Granté's hair as he spoke, his voice cracked under a sorrow so powerful that Link felt it in his chest. "I sent Jerrin to Hateno and sought out their camp myself. I said that I would go with them if they ceased harming my son. They agreed, and here we are."

Link did not know what to say. He knelt down and inspected Granté's gaunt face. The young Sheikah blinked at him, his eyes turning harrowingly placid - almost hopeful. "I'm sorry this has happened to you," Link murmured. Granté slowly opened his mouth to speak, and swallowed with some trouble. "My father…" he croaked. "Protect him."

Link nodded, but the promise felt hollow. He was on the other side of the bars, that was true, but he could do little to help them. Keenly, like feeling the heat of the sun or the trickle of sweat against his brow, he became aware of Inglis' presence at the edge of the room. He was waiting, leaning up against the far wall, dark eyes watching the meeting.

"Why have you come to me Champion?" Robbie asked. "Why is it that you walk free?"

"I do not _walk free_ ," Link said tersely, casting an askance glance at Inglis. "They take me everywhere. They tell me what I can do."

"You are certainly more free than any of us," came the comment from Larella. Frustration stirred in Link's stomach. _Wasn't it_ you _who told me to survive?_

"They tell you what to do?" Robbie questioned. "What is it that you do for them?"

Link looked to Larella, and then back to Robbie. How could he begin to explain? "…I just want to say that had no choice-"

"Are you helping them?" Larella asked, her face drawn. She approached the bars of her cell, and Link could see the thin scar on her neck. He could do nothing but nod, and stare at the ground.

Robbie scowled, and even Grante seemed affected by the revelation. "They're Yiga, Link. My people's sworn-"

"There's a Guardian! In the Gatehouse. A _live_ Guardian." Link blurted out. He saw Inglis watching, and began to whisper. "And they think _I_ can control it!"

"And why is that?" Robbie whispered back.

"They must have heard what I was doing before I rescued Zelda, with the Beasts. They think I have some...natural talent." Link wrapped his hands around the bars. "But I don't. I _need_ your help."

The beady eyepieces of Robbie's goggles centred on Link, the luminescent irises intensifying as he spoke. "Allow me to repeat myself, Champion. That Gerudo Cinelgen is a _Yiga_. I would die, and see the ancestral technology of my people completely snuffed out before I aided his ends."

"Alright, alright," Link pulled out his notebook and flipped through the pages. Finding the page he needed, he held the book up to the cell bars. "Just tell me what the pattern means."

Robbie did not look at the notebook. " _No_."

"Cinelgen is going to kill me," Link felt the desperation in his throat. "And anyone who gets in his way. _Please_ ,"

The Sheikah sighed once more, and looked up at the notebook. He scanned the notes where Link had drawn the pattern of the Guardian's blinking.

… - - - … - - -

"It's a distress signal," he said, running a finger along the page. "Save our souls. You've written down too many letters. There's only three in the phrase."

Link could not stop the grin from crawling across his face. "Really? That's…" He was speechless, his smile wide, triumphant. He'd been _right!_ "The Guardian was calling for help then."

"Ah, fascinating." Robbie brought a hand to his chin. "Communicative functions were retained..."

"Communicative…?"

"No." Robbie drew back, re-centring his focus on Link. "I've already given you too much."

In his periphery, Link saw Inglis shift. Time was running out. He looked to his Hylian captor, and suddenly remembered how he had gotten to the Lockup in the first place. Words, and secrets, a new kind of knowing, allowing him to manipulate Inglis into sneaking him through the Castle in the dead of night. A puzzle where people were the components. _If I did it once, I can do it again_.

"Robbie, the Guardians are your life's work," Link pleaded. "You told us that they could be useful. That they could protect us. What if I can use mine to break out of here? And if _I_ don't learn to control Rhoamet, then maybe _Cinelgen_ eventually will."

Robbie considered Link with a hard frown. "Rhoamet?"

Link shrugged. "…I thought he could use a name."

Robbie peered at Inglis waiting in the shadows, and then looked back to Link. If he was convinced, Link could not tell, but then he ushered Link foward and said, "Quickly. Give me that notebook."

Link did as he was bid, and the Sheikah began scribbling down a series of letters and symbols. "Sheikah Code uses a series of long and short signals. Purah, Impa and I have been using it to encode letters since we were children. Pre-Calamity we discovered that the Guardians could communicate basic phrases using the code." When he handed it back, Link saw that he had written the entire Hylian alphabet, but with each letter accompanied by a series of dots or dashes. "It seems like your Guardian is in a bad state. Find out what's wrong with it. But keep it out of Cinelgen's hands, do you understand me?"

"Thank you, Robbie," Link said breathlessly, eyes scanning the code. "I mean that."

Inglis was approaching; Link snapped the notebook shut.

"Be wary, Champion," Robbie said as Inglis ushered Link out of the Lockup. "Lives depend on your actions. Perhaps now more than ever."

* * *

Link blinked away his sleepiness as they lead him into the Gatehouse; he had spent the entire night committing the Sheikah Code to memory. When he closed his eyes, he saw dots and dashes that swam in his mind like moths surrounding a flame. He had left his notebook in his chambers.

The Guardian seemed to have grown used to the visits, and no longer huddled against the wall when they entered. Instead, it sat, almost passive, against the far wall of the Gatehouse and watched unblinking as they approached.

"Morning's welcome, Rhoamet," Link said, quiet enough so that only he could hear. The Guardian had not lashed out in a few days, and Cinelgen now seemed convinced that it either could not or did not want to use its beam. So now the sessions were staffed only by the dutiful Inglis and savvy Aurelia, as well as Cinelgen's two personal guards - a green-feathered Rito named Marl, and a Gerudo woman named Teel. Link would have preferred not to have Cinelgen's watchful eye over them during this sessions, but the Gerudo insisted on overseeing every meeting, with a wild smile, and eyes solid as granite.

Link stood before the Guardian, and held out a hand. "Your halberd, Inglis."

"…Are you joking?" Inglis laughed from behind him, the sound humourless, more of a harsh wheeze than a chuckle.

Link held firm. "Give me your halberd."

"You think we're going to give the Hero of Hyrule a weapon?" Aurelia retorted. She stood on Link's left flank, her halberd pointed just slightly towards the Guardian. It had yet to gain her trust.

"I'm asking nicely." Link warned. His mind was hazy, the letters coming back in flurries and waves, and he blinked them away without success. "I don't need to ask. But I am."

 _Words are stronger. Words are worse._ When the two Hylians stared at him blankly, Link went over their heads. "Cinelgen!" he called. " _Trust_. I can't work without it."

Cinelgen was gripping the balcony, grinning as though the entire exchange entertained him. "Inglis. Do as he says."

With a scowl, Inglis handed Link his halberd and using the pommel Link drew three letters into the dirt.

 _S O S_

The Guardian looked at him blankly, tilting its body town to observe the writing. Beneath the letters, Link wrote the pattern as he remembered it; ● ● ● ▬ ▬ ▬ ● ● ●

"I'm sorry I didn't...remember, sooner. But I know what you're trying to say now. And I can understand."

The Guardian took two steps towards the code, its body flashing orange, and then blue. And then it began to blink, the pattern new. Link studied the blinking, brows furrowed. He became keenly aware of the eyes upon him, as well as the price of failure. It was an intricate pattern. Long, and new, the meanings of the signals only half remembered. He fought down a yawn, his concentration waning. And just as it became too much, Link heard the voice.

 _You can't hear the song with a clouded mind_.

Otra. The Battlemaster. His teacher. He wasn't even family, and yet he was still a stronger presence than most of the figures from Link's former life, he'd realised. "I know, Otra," Link muttered. "I know."

Link focused on his breath, centred himself, and locked eyes with the Guardian, collecting the letters in his head as he recognised them.

"T..B..D...O...W...TB Down?"

The Guardian blinked a new pattern; ▬ ▬ ● ▬

"Yes?"

It blinked the same pattern again; ▬ ▬ ● ▬

"Yes." Link said. "I don't know what TB is."

A third pattern. Link read out the letters. "B...e...a...beam! Ah - targeted beam!" He looked up at Cinelgen. reigning in his excitement. "His beam is broken! Just like you said."

"Good, good," the Gerudo replied, and he walked down from the parapets, his guards following close behind. Rhoamet stepped backwards, body gleaming a muted orange hue. "You can understand it now?" Cinelgen queried.

"Ah...yes," Link nodded, preparing the lie, trying to let the words feel natural. "It came to me overnight. I was taught the code, though I barely remember it."

"Wonderful, wonderful," Cinelgen approached the Guardian, and it continued to step backwards. Link felt the panic churning in his stomach. _If it lashes out, if it hurts him…_

"You will produce a cypher for us," Cinelgen commanded. "If it can communicate, then it can take orders."

"Uh...in time. I'd need more time."

"Anything you need." Cinelgen clapped Link on the shoulder and leant down to meet his eye, the brightness of his gaze only barely hiding the ruthlessness beneath. "I'm proud of you, Link. You came through for me."

Cinelgen motioned to his guards to depart the Gatehouse, leaving Inglis, Aurelia and Link alone with the Guardian. Link turned back to Rhoamet, Inglis' halberd still in hand. He scrapped his foot across the dirt, clearing away the markings he had made. With the pommel, he began to carefully write his own name.

"Alright, buddy," he said to the Guardian. "I think it's time we began proper introductions."

* * *

The snow was falling in a thick lattice when they finally arrived at the cabin, and its owner, a sprightly Hylian woman named Selmie, seemed to be the only one excited by the passing blizzard. She met them with a beaming smile and a warm mug of tea, the steam rising to meet her face, her cropped blonde hair tucked under a beanie.

"Isn't this weather is perfect for slopes?" Selmie grinned, her plump cheeks made rosy by the cold air. "Two years ago we had a warm winter, and I almost went out of business."

"I still don't understand how you _stay_ in business, Selmie," Teba commented as he shook his feathers free of the snow. In his shadow Tulin was doing the same, his single braided feather snaking back and forth.

"Word of mouth is a powerful thing in Hebra," Selmie shrugged. "But who am I to keep you outside with my chatter? Come in, come in."

The cabin was cosy and warm, with a small fire crackling in the hearth and just enough space for a bed, a desk and a simple kitchen. _An isolated life_ , Zelda thought, sensing the appeal that it would have. No responsibilities. No burdens. Just the beauty, and the brutality, of the open air.

"Cocoa? Tea?" Selmie asked, fetching Zelda a mug from the kitchen.

"Oh, uh—" She wasn't sure what Rowan would drink. "Tea is fine. Hyrule Herb."

"Coming right up, uh – what was your name?" Selmie asked with a smile so welcoming that Zelda almost gave the woman the truth. Instead, she just gaped at her, suddenly dumbfounded, and with a slightly concerned look, Selmie turned to Teba.

"You never introduced us. New apprentice?"

"No, no," Teba corrected a little too quickly. He sat cross-legged by the fire and gestured for Tulin to do the same. "Travelling partner. Selmie, this is Rowan."

Zelda frowned inwardly as she shook Selmie's hand. _How much longer will I have to do this?_

The Hylian woman brewed a fresh mug of tea and another mug of hot cocoa. She gave Zelda the first and took the second in hand as she approached the fire.

"And you must be Tulin," She said, handing the fledgeling the second mug. "The last time I saw your father you were barely more than a chick, and now look at you."

Tulin giggled in response, thanking her and bringing the mug to his face. Zelda knelt beside Tulin, drinking in the warmth of the fire, feeling the chill shake from her skin, and the flames scald the tip of her nose.

"In fact, I haven't seen anyone since that darling Hylian boy passed through here last winter," Selmie said as sat down opposite the Rito, a sly smile on her face. "Best shield surfer I've ever seen. I had to bar him, would you believe? Forget the weather; _he_ would have run me out of business. Not that I would have minded."

"A prodigy, then?" Teba asked, shooting Zelda a knowing glance, and her eyes went wide as she understood; _she's talking about Link_.

"Something like that," Selmie took a long sip of her drink. Zelda looked down into the steam that rose from her mug, unable to drink. Selmie leant forward, lips twinged into a curious grin. "Now, I know you Teba. You aren't here just to visit. What is it that you want to know?"

Teba straightened his back, readying himself. Zelda saw his gaze harden; a shield against his own vulnerability. "I'm looking for Yahn." Selmie lowered her mug.

"Oh Teba…no," she sighed. "We spoke about—"

"I'm not trying to get him back. I'm not a fool," Teba cut her off. "I think he might be connected to something. I need to know if you've seen anything suspicious in the mountains."

Selmie thought for a moment and then stood, going to her desk and returning with a small notebook. "I have seen something. Near Hebra Plunge. A week ago. There was quite a camp in an old Bokoblin cave, and I remembered seeing a few Rito. But I…" she flipped through the pages. "I remember seeing Hylians too. All were wearing these strange neckerchiefs. And I found it odd because well, I'm Hylian. And I didn't recognise the style."

Zelda felt her breath catch. "Blue and white?" she asked.

Selmie scanned her notebook and then tapped the page. "Yes, actually. I've got it right here. Blue with white embroidery."

 _Cinelgen's Successors._ Zelda looked at Teba and nodded. They were on the right track.

"Thank you, Selmie," Teba said. "This is valuable information."

They spent the rest of the morning with Selmie while she and Teba caught up. She had lived in Hebra her entire life, she explained to Zelda, and became famous for her shield surfing abilities. Ten or so years ago, she formed a lasting friendship with the Rito when they employed her to teach them her skillset. "They thought shield surfing would keep their injured warriors mobile."

"But…" Zelda said.

"But if you've got an injured wing, a shield just becomes an extra burden," Teba sighed. And then, with a grumble. "That and Rito are top heavy. We uh…fall over, a lot."

Selmie stifled a laugh, her face brightened by her smile. Zelda imagined her talking with Link; praising his abilities, casually inviting him in for a drink, smiling at him as she asked him if he would like tea or cocoa. _Perhaps it wasn't really Link_. She had not found the courage to ask, but just as they were preparing to leave the cabin, she caught Selmie by the arm.

"This Hylian, what did he look like?"

"Oh, a bit like you actually," Selmie laughed. "Same messy hair, same Rito clothes. He was quiet like you too, but it wasn't his talking that I liked." She waggled her eyebrows.

"That…but…" Zelda stammered. "You shouldn't - He was a customer!"

"Rowan," Teba cautioned, placing a wing on Zelda's shoulder. "We were just leaving."

But Selmie just laughed. "No need to get jealous, girl. I meant his surfing. I never saw more of him than that."

Begrudgingly, Zelda let Teba usher out of the cabin, but nearly leapt from his grip to tackle Selmie when she heard the woman mutter, "As much as I would have liked to."

* * *

Consulting the map on the Sheikah Slate, Teba estimated that it would take a week to reach the Hebra Plunge. They could round back towards Talonto Peak and then head through the southern pass towards the Hebra Headspring, following the falls south-east.

"We'll keep to the trees, stay out of sight as best we can," Teba addressed Tulin and Zelda as though they were his squadron and him their leader. "There are two former Bokoblin camps; one in the south and one in the east. The Rito could be at either." He made no mention of Yahn; what to expect from his former apprentice, or even what the Rito would look like. Zelda remembered Selmie's disappointment at learning that Teba was looking for Yahn, and wondered what had transpired between them.

In the mornings, they rose at dawn, breakfasted, and trained. Teba had Tulin and Zelda doing archery drills. She had begun to hear his instructions in her dreams. _Back straight. Elbow up. Stop tensing. Where's your eye? Feel the air. Feel the arrow. Nothing teaches aim like the fear of missing. You should be able to do this blind._ When she had told Teba that she and Link had been sparring with spears, he began her and Tulin on drills with tree branches as well. The fledgeling was strong, but was not as quick, and was easy to trick. He fell for every feint, was surprised by every blow that came in his direction, and was knocked on his feet more times than Zelda could count. And Teba was unyielding, militant in his expectations. He watched Tulin's failures with marbled eyes, collecting each instance with unnerving stoicism. It seemed that, despite Zelda's warning, Teba could not shake his disappointment with his son.

By day they walked. In the early days day of their expedition, Zelda had found the snowquill gear cumbersome; the tight leather chest piece, the thick and downy pants and the wrapped boots doubling the already exhausting effort needed to hike through the thick snow. But now that Winter had well and truly come, and the winds whipped with such ferocity that they stung, Zelda was grateful to have Link's gear. How was it, she wondered, that he could still be looking out for her, even when he had placed half a kingdom between them? _I could never be rid of you if I tried_ , and she realised that the thought gave her comfort. It was the crispness of Hebra, product of its stark and manifest beauty, that seemed to yield the truths hidden by the usual rush of living. _I wish you were here_ , Zelda thought as she took in the shock white snow. _I wish I walked with you at my side._

Dusk light brought more drills, and by the evening Zelda was too tired to mind Teba's silent company. Tulin too was often exhausted, falling asleep soon after they supped. One evening as they neared the Hebra Falls, she and Teba were knelt opposite each other by the fire while Tulin snored softly at Teba's side. _He still loves his father_ , Zelda thought sadly. _No matter how often he is rebuked._

She tapped through the inventory function of the Slate, looking through Link's collection of weapons and gear. There among them was the Great Eagle Bow – the proud Rito weapon that Revali had once wielded. Unable to resist, Zelda pulled it from the inventory. It materialised above the Slate, and she caught it by the grip, and was surprised by how heavy it was. When she tested the draw weight, she could not even pull back the string.

"That was his?" came the question from across the fire. Teba was working on his own bow; a new Falcon not too dissimilar in make from Revali's.

"Something like it," Zelda replied, handing the bow to Teba. The Rito warrior tried to pull back the string and sighed when he had no more luck that Zelda. "Not sure why I bothered." He muttered, turning the bow over in his hands. "With my eyes, I'm not much good with a standard bow as it is."

"Don't say that," Zelda frowned. "If it helps, you're a better teacher than Revali was."

Zelda smiled as she remembered the Rito Champion's ill-fated lessons; he had tried to teach her to shoot during her yearly visits to Rito Village. But she had little talent and less self-confidence, and eventually, his pride won out over his patience. _Perhaps you should stick to praying_ , he had teased, and she remembered being so hurt that she told him she hated him.

"Revali must have been a bad teacher then," Teba said. "If _I'm_ the standard."

Zelda frowned. She had been thinking on how to broach the subject for days. "We can talk about Yahn if you want to."

The Rito warrior looked up at her, the flames of the fire framing his pained expression. "I don't want to."

Zelda knew not to press the subject further. _In time_ , she reasoned, and to change the subject she asked, "Why do you think he could be working with Cinelgen?"

The Rito's brows knitted in close, and he re-commenced examining the Great Eagle Bow as he pondered the question. Eventually, he shrugged and said. "Why does anyone? Do you know?"

Zelda realised that she didn't, or at least, that she had never asked the question herself. "He told me that the people feel they have no place. Leaves in the wind, he called them."

"Well, the bastard's got the right of it." Teba chuckled, shaking his head.

"You _agree_ with him?"

"I don't agree with starting a civil- _fucking_ -war if that's what you're asking." Teba looked down at Tulin to check that he had not stirred and went on. "But Cinelgen has one thing right; Hyrule is a mess. Sounds like he's the first one to take advantage of that."

Zelda looked into the flames, suddenly aware of the expanse of the wilderness and the pervasive hunger of the darkness around them. A shiver caught at the base of her spine, racing up towards her neck. Something shifted behind her, but when she turned, it was just the wind.

* * *

Torchlight led them through the dark hallways of Hyrule Castle, and drunken verse sang them home. Wildwine, or what was left of it, flowed freely across the lips of Cinelgen's Successors, along with a motley mix of home brewed spirits and ales, downed in the absence of any other form of entertainment. The singing rang through the halls, some of it was little more than a bawdy rhyme, and some of it a hymn of old, but most of it nonsense. Inglis and Link walked in a tense silence back to the Royal Apartments after dinner, thoughts clouded by the singing and shouting until they rounded into a windowless hallway both out of sight of both the singers and Link's personal guards that waited by his bedchamber.

"You're still lying to Cinna about the code," Inglis said, matter-of-fact.

Link shrugged and met Inglis' accusing glare. "Yeah?"

"I could tell him."

"Then I'd tell them about Mila."

Inglis winced, but then something changed on his face. A shift, marked by a flicker of a smile. "That's where we differ, Champion. They won't kill me for my mistakes."

With a sharp shove, Inglis ushered Link back down the hallway, keeping his hand on Link's arm the entire way to his chamber. Link felt nails digging into skin, leaving half-moon impressions that made the message clear when he looked upon them later; _you are not the one in control_.

No, he was not. Inglis need not repeat himself there. But Link still felt a small triumph when he flipped through his notebook on his desk and saw the phrases he had written in Sheikah Code – messages that his Guardian had communicated to him. Link wanted to savour this victory, pull it out and write it down as an example - _look, see; I can do this_. But then his chest began to throb, and running his hand over the still tender wounds reminded him of his constant and precarious situation.

Link reviewed the week's work. He had started with his name. Link, or just L for short; ● ▬ ● ●

The Guardian learned that fast enough, so he moved onto Inglis (●●) and Aurelia (●▬), though his guards were uneasy at being identified to the ancient war machine in their captivity, as much as Link assured them that it could not attack. Next came a tricky hurdle; the Guardian's name. When he asked, it rattled off a series of numbers.

"You're a little more special than that," he had told the Guardian. "I've got a better name for you."

And with Inglis' halberd, he had written the name in the code. _R-H-O-A-M-E-T._ The Guardian looked down at the code, and then back to Link. _Yes_ , it spelt out, and with a broad and childish grin, Link had said, "Nice to meet you, Rhoamet."

"You're crazy," Aurelia commented, rolling her eyes. "Naming it like it is a pet, and after the man who destroyed this kingdom."

And maybe Link was a little reckless, but he just refused to believe this Guardian's identity ended at _automaton_. _The Beasts have something like souls,_ he wrote in his notebook. _So maybe he does too_.

But the Guardian's semi-consciousness was not the most surprising discovery, Link noted. It was the joy that he found in working with it. It was a puzzle, like so many things, but one he could solve. And for the first time in months, Link felt a clarity of spirit. A certainty. A return to purpose. He was raised a Knight – to help people, to fight for his kingdom. Restoring control over an ancient automaton was perhaps not the path Link would have chosen towards this purpose, but it was a path nonetheless.

He tried to picture Zelda's reaction, but could not. All he could see was her face, soft lips pressed into a frown, long hair framing her eyes as green as the rolling fields. Habitually he rolled his left shoulder, feeling the throb of the arrow wounds. Mipha's power was yet to return, but thankfully the hallucinations of her had ceased. The dreams, however? Strengthened since the fever had left. Being back in the Castle had tapped into something beneath the surface of his clearer memories, rendering his former life in tantalising snippets and half-remembered conversations. _Mipha…I've been thinking…_

He'd written down what he could catch. An afternoon. The Zora Princess. Roses. And a song, strangely familiar. Tears on the cobblestones and red lips parted in shock. _What did I do? What did I say?_ Whatever it was, Link felt half-afraid to find out. There were only so many situations that could fit what he remembered, and none of them pleasant. But he owed it to Mipha's memory to find that which eluded him. And now that he had convinced Cinelgen that he needed time to 'transcribe' the Guardian's code, he had the time to figure it out.

His thoughts turned back to the evening just past. These days he dined exclusively with Cinelgen and his Hylian partners. It was a dance – always a dance – between playing the role of prisoner and extending himself into something and someone _more_. When he felt himself faltering, he remembered the example that Zelda had set; steadfast, but always polite, showing her enemies kindness rather than contempt. A week of cautiously teasing out the stories from Cinna taught Link that while he had always been good at _not talking_ , he hadn't always been a good _listener_. His usual silence replaced by short nods and gentle coaxes of _Ah yeah_ and _Very interesting_. And strangely, it was working. Link listened quietly as the progressively drunk Gerudo waxed lyrical on his youth, his exploits and most importantly his plans.

Milagre remained tight-lipped in Link's company, perhaps a little wearier than Cinelgen of Link's dual loyalties, or maybe she preferred silence too. And Inglis only spoke when spoken too; certainly, he had control over _Link_ , but he was very much under Cinelgen's thumb.

By the way they acted, Link wondered, earnestly, what kept the trio together.

 _What do they owe each other?_ He wrote in his notebook and slid it under his pillow as he turned out his lamp.

* * *

Precisely as Teba had predicted, they reached the Hebra Headspring in exactly one week. They passed the eastern camp first, finding it patrolled by a few Hylian's in blue and white neckerchiefs and snowquill gear. Teba however, decided that they would continue south until they reached the second bokoblin hideout. Zelda tried to ply from Teba his plans, but he would not tell her, much to her frustration. _He still doesn't fully trust me_.

The domed skull-like structure was abandoned, and within they found little more than scrap wood and empty jars. It was built at the edge of a cliff overlooking a vast lake that led to the Hebra Plunge. Zelda felt dizzy as she looked down at the enormous, towering waterfall and heard the churn of the water as it hit the rocks below. Beyond the cliffs, glittering faintly in the distance, she caught sight of Rito Village and Vah Medoh atop the high pillar. Feeling the chill of the morning air seep its way through the snowquill coat, she hoped they would be returning there soon, and turned back towards the hideout to find Teba and Tulin.

The Rito Warrior was kneeling before his son, and as Zelda approached, she heard him explain why they had come all this way south.

"I want you to fly home." He instructed a sniffling Tulin. "You should be able to reach the Stables from here. Do you understand?"

"Why can't I come with you?" Tulin demanded. He was crying again, and Zelda felt her heart render, and the urge to pull Tulin away. To shield him from the pain that was kindred between them.

"Dangerous, capable people are in that camp. I can't deal with them _and_ you." Teba took a deep breath. "You would be a burden."

Tulin crossed his wings. "I'm not going home. I'm not."

"You _will not_ come with us, Tulin. Do you understand me?" Teba stood and glowered down at this son.

"But—"

" _Do you understand_?"

Zelda winced, feeling the thrum of pain in her chest. _Are all fathers like this?_ she wondered.

"Yes, Father." Tulin whimpered. "Can I at least wait here for you?"

Teba noticed Zelda standing at the edge of the hideout, and shrunk backwards. "Fine. But you go as soon as you see someone that isn't us."

The fledgeling nodded silently, and Teba turned to leave. "Don't say a thing," he muttered to Zelda as he passed. When she looked back, Tulin had huddled in close against the wall of the hideout, still sniffling.

They hiked in silence towards the Eastern camp as the snow began to fall; it came thick and fast, and soon Zelda could see no more than ten feet ahead. Teba himself all but disappeared, his white feathers the perfect camouflage against the snow.

"I'd like to know your plan," Zelda said as they crossed a natural stone bridge spanned the rushing rivers of Hebra falls.

All Teba said was, "Follow my lead."

"I've been doing that for a week." Zelda bristled, but Teba said no more. As they neared the camp, he did not slow down, marching steadfastly towards the camp boundary.

"Teba!" Zelda whispered. "What—"

"Follow. My. Lead." The Rito repeated, and Zelda had no choice but to hurry through the snow to keep pace. The Hylian guards noticed the advancing duo and drew their feathered Rito swords, shouting for Teba and Zelda to halt.

Teba raised his wings to the air, and Zelda followed. "I've got business with one of your men," Teba called out.

"Who'd that be?" one of the Hylians called back, his sword pointed in their direction.

"Yahn," Teba answered. "Rito Warrior. Black feathers. Kind of a smart-ass."

"You 'aven't got a scarf!" the second guard shouted. "We can't let you in without-"

"Stand down, men!" came a voice from behind the guards, and through the threshold emerged a Rito with jet-black feathers and a hooked orange and black beak. He was short for a Rito and stalked out past the retreating guards with one wing at his back, and the other in a sling. _That's him_ , Zelda realised.

"Well, well," Yahn said, appraising the duo with a sly smile. "What have we here?"

* * *

The Rito Camp was little more than just that – a camp; a handful of tents inside a domed structure that was a twin to the one at the southern bokoblin camp, a single fire under a bubbling iron pot, all enclosed by a ring of sharpened tree trunks. Yahn stood before them with a broad-shouldered green-feathered Rito at his left and a smaller, blue-feathered female Rito who was blind in one eye to his right. The two Hylian guards stood behind Teba and Zelda during the audience, their swords still drawn.

"New apprentice?" Yahn said, taking stock of Zelda. _I am Rowan, I am Rowan. Zelda is dead. Rowan lives._ Zelda chewed her lip.

"What do you care?" Teba said with a grin. He was strangely relaxed, Zelda noticed. Casual. She didn't understand.

"You're right, I don't," Yahn sighed, the tension simmering between them regardless. "Why are you here, Teba?"

The warrior shrugged. "Heard Rylen mention you," He nodded towards the green-feathered Rito. "Thought I'd come find you. See what you're up to. Learn more about this new cause of yours."

Yahn rolled his eyes. "Try again, teacher. We both know that's not why you're here."

Teba drew back, shooting Zelda a nervous glance. And then he scowled, his casual façade dropped. "Go on then, Yahn. Why do you think I'm here?"

Yahn's stern expression didn't falter; if this Rito had learned anything from Teba, it seemed to be that distinctive, marbled expression somewhere between anger and disappointment. "You'll never let it drop, will you?" He looked to Zelda. "Does she know? Has she even told you who she is?"

Zelda swallowed her shock and donned the mask like armour. "My name is Rowan," she said, lips quivering. "I'm a bard from Necluda."

Yahn stepped forward and squared up to her. He leant in so close that she could feel his breath, brows raised. "Really now? Is everyone at Rito Village really as stupid as they seem, or are you _actually_ not the Princess?"

She flinched, starting backwards, and from behind her she heard the Hylian guards shift across the snow-strewn dirt, their mail jangling under the movement. "I'm Rowan," Zelda repeated, her mouth suddenly dry.

"I'll bet," Yahn laughed, a wicked grin crossing his face. "A Hylian girl, travelling with _Teba_? I know my teacher well. He doesn't just mentor anyone."

"Clearly at one point I exclusively mentored _idiots_ ," Teba spat. "The hell would I travel with the Princess for?"

"I don't know," Yahn admitted with a shrug. "Cinna will be happy either way."

The victory stung; Zelda had been right that Yahn was working for Cinelgen, but all it meant was that the Gerudo's reach had extended even further across Hyrule. Zelda bit her lip to stifle the anger, Rhoam's words in her mind. _Never show your enemy contempt. Never show that they have affected you_.

"What are you doing for him?" she asked quietly, refusing to crumble under Yahn's stern gaze.

"Lots of things. Managing operations. Capturing a beast. Searching for you. Ah – one less task on the list!" He gave Zelda a discordantly gleeful look and turned back towards Teba.

"And really, you wanted to join us, but had your son wait behind? Leaving him at the southern camp? I knew you were a bad liar but—"

"What have you done with Tulin?" Teba demanded, surging forward. The Rito and Yahn's side drew their weapons – twin Rito bows – and each nocked an arrow.

"Nothing. Rylen and Orli here just spotted you walking in that direction, and now I see you're here without him." Yahn motioned to his Rito companions. "We've been waiting for you."

Yahn then turned to Rylen. "Has someone been dispatched to fetch this uh—Tulin, is it?"

"They have," the broad-shouldered Rito nodded, and with a furious snarl, Teba became a blur as he drew his bow and loosed an arrow squarely at Yahn.

His former apprentice dodged, and the camp _electrified_. Rylen loosed an arrow towards Teba, as did the blue-feathered Rito named Orli, but Zelda raised her hand just in time, and the arrows snapped against a light barrier that she erected between them.

To her right, Yahn was howling with laughter. "There she is!" he cried, eyes fixed on the Royal Crest on her hand.

Teba leapt to his left, dodging arrow fire and evading the pursuing Hylian guards. "Tulin!" he shouted at Zelda, and wasting not another second, he launched himself skyward, with Rylen and Orli in pursuit. Zelda turned, and bolted through the snow, drawing her Sparrow bow as she ran. The Hylian guards loped through the snow after her, reaching for their own bows.

Above, Teba was soaring towards the south, dipping and rolling through the air as he dodged arrow fire from the pursuing Rito. Hands shaking and breath haggard, Zelda nocked an arrow into her bow and loosed it back towards the Hylian guards. It missed, disappearing into the snow without a sound. She drew another, yelping as an arrow whizzed past her face. As she rounded the stone bridge, she leapt over another volley of arrows and turned south towards the second bokoblin camp once she had crossed the river. Fighting panic, she nocked the second arrow. Zelda turned once again, taking a second to line up the shot. The forest was rushing towards her. She loosed the arrow, and almost cheered when it tore through the closer Hylian's chest.

The trees were thick around her then, but beyond she caught a glimpse of the shimmering blue lake that preceded the Hebra Plunge. Zelda looked skywards, and saw only two Rito above her; the green-feathered Rylen and the blue-feathered Orli. And then, half camouflaged against the snow, she caught sight of something plummeting from the sky.

Zelda watched in horror as Teba crashed down through the trees, pines and broken branches raining down to the snow.

Above she heard Rylen calling something down to them. "Pull back!" he was saying. "Come here! Take these!" And Zelda realised he was not addressing her but rather the remaining Hylian behind her. She looked back and saw the guard slow his steps, and retreat. The still airborne Rito were swooping down towards the trees. Teba had fallen in a heap at the edge of the forest, but he was alive.

"We're almost there!" Zelda said as she helped him to his feet. "Can you fly?"

"No," he winced. "But nothing's broken." When he stood, Zelda saw that his wings were bloodied and torn, a broken arrow rising out of the feathers. "C'mon, we need to reach Tulin." he urged, and they continued down the path towards the camp. Through the haze of the snow, the southern bokoblin camp had begun to emerge, as had the sound of the roaring Hebra plunge.

As they hobbled forward, Zelda looked back through the trees. Rylen, Orli and the remaining Hylian had regrouped and were advancing on foot. When they saw her, they surged forward, nocking strange, bulbous arrows into their bows that rained sparks down into the snow, and Zelda became aware of the sound of a quiet hiss. _Bomb arrows._

"Teba!" she shrieked. "RUN!"

The first arrow flew past Zelda's face, connecting with a tree that exploded in front of them in a shower of sparks and splinters. Together, she and Teba leapt over the fallen trunk. The second landed behind them and sent a wave of heat searing across the back of Zelda's neck. And the third thankfully soared past them, out over the cliff that led down to the Hebra Plunge.

Cresting the final hill before the southern bokoblin camp, Teba and Zelda scrambled down the path that skirted the edge of the cliff. Zelda tried, and failed, not to look at the lake below, the sound of the Hebra Plunge filling the air. Faintly in the distance, she spied two Rito; an adult, grey of feather and slim, hauling a small white fledgeling from the bokoblin camp.

"Tulin!" Teba roared, and he bolted forwards along the path.

Zelda's chest burned, as did the Royal Crest on her right hand, reignited when she had raised a light barrier to protect Teba at Yahn's camp. She felt herself slowing, unable to keep pace, panting and shouting with a hollow voice for Teba to _wait_. But he was too far ahead now.

She looked back one last time and saw that Rylan had drawn another bomb arrow. The snow was falling in her eyes. The air was frozen. There was nothing to do but watch.

Zelda watched as Rylen loosed the arrow towards them. She watched as the arrow tore past her, whistling and hissing, the sparks drawing a bursting, shimmering line through the air. And she watched as the arrow landed at Teba's feet, the explosion launching him up and over the precipice, down to the lake below.

She tried to cry out, but she couldn't even scream. Her voice was gone. Tulin was shrieking for her, calling for his father as the grey-feathered Rito dragged him away from the camp. Zelda looked down at the lake and saw Teba's limp body floating towards the roaring Hebra plunge. Behind her, the bandits in pursuit were readying another round of arrows. Zelda felt her limbs seize; her throat clam up with fear; her aching legs beg for her to keep moving _forward_. But she couldn't.

 _Dammit, Teba._

Zelda skidded to a stop. Deftly, as Link had taught her, she raised a shield in front of her pursuers. Rylen, Orli and the Hylian guard all smacked into the shimmering barrier one after the other, landing hard against the ground, their arrows broken and bows forgotten. And then, cursing under her breath, she turned towards the cliff, towards the shimmering lake and the thunderous Hebra plunge – towards the Rito Warrior who would lose his life if she did not make this choice - and she _leapt_.

* * *

 _Don't look. Don't think. Just fall._

 _I'm screaming, but where's my voice? Water in my mouth. Ice against my skin. Goddess, Goddesses, this cold! I can't swim! Damn you, Teba, where are you? Goddess damn you._

 _Heavy. I'm so heavy. I can't think, only feel. I'm afloat. And there you are! I can see you, Teba. I can reach you; I can, I can, I can. Link would, so I must. Just a little further, kick, kick, arm over arm. Just a little further…  
_

 _I've got you. I've got you! There's my voice! I've got you, Teba! Are you alive? Please be alive! Hold onto me. We're going to fall. I can swim, but I can't fly, and now neither can you. Here it comes. Can you hear it? That's the Plunge._

 _You're a fool, Teba. Walking into that camp. Leaving your son behind. A big fool. But I've got you. I've got us both. We'll land in the water. We'll land on the rocks. We'll land hard, but I can protect us. Here we go. Don't look, Teba. Just fall._

* * *

 **A/N: We're back with weekly updates! Thank you all so much for your kind reviews and patience. The plot is beginning to hot up again, and the next few weeks are some of the most exciting in the whole work.**


	14. Infiltrate

Under the snow of winter, Hyrule _shone_. Brighter than any gem. Brighter even than Death Mountain itself. From the lower cliffs of the Eldin mountains, he could see it all; the rolling hills, the jagged mountains, the Beasts on the skyline, the Sheikah Towers with their sapphire peaks that sprung up across the landscape like the flowers of spring.

Yunobo had never set foot beyond the base of the mountains. Though not for lack of wanting. There was just no need - at least, not yet. Some Gorons travelled; merchants and traders who sold gems from the Goron mines to the other races of Hyrule. But most Gorons did not.

He squinted the brilliance of the snow and wondered what it would be like to touch. It didn't snow on the mountain; the lava made the air so hot that any rain turned to steam. But he wondered what it would be like to feel the frozen ground at his feet. To feel cold. To shiver at the brutal winter. Would he need a coat? He had never worn a coat. He had never seen another of his brothers wearing much more than rags. Looking down at the lowlands of Hyrule, Yunobo wondered if he would ever find the answers he sought.

The ground began to shake, loose rocks shifting between his feet. Behind him, the colossal Death Mountain rumbled, and all of Eldin shook in response. Yunobo turned to look and saw Divine Beast Vah Rudania perched precariously on the volcano's precipice. In the soles of his feet, he felt a shudder from deep within the earth, and a shower of lava came bursting forth from the mountain. Flaming rocks soared high above into the air, leaving bright red streaks against the sky, before crashing back down harmlessly into the volcano.

It was nothing; just Death Mountain saying hello. A _real_ eruption hadn't occurred for thousands of years, or so the boss said, and if the mountain really were to blow, there'd be no Goron City left.

He looked up and saw that Rudania had not moved. It had not done so since the day of the attack on Hyrule Castle. Yunobo had seen it from an outpost near the Beast itself. Bludo had made it _his_ job to monitor Vah Rudania - though Yunobo had no idea how to do that, or what to do if anything happened -

and he'd been halfway up his daily hike to visit the Beast when Rudania had unleashed an enormous, blistering ray of power right into Hyrule Castle. All the Beasts had; the camel in the South, the bird in the West, and the elephant in the East. And in that moment of immense power, all Yunobo could think was, _imagine if they'd missed._

Afterwards, he'd asked the boss what they were going to do about Vah Rudania, and Bludo had roared with laughter, clapping Yunobo on the back. "Nothing, boy!" he cried. "The last time we bothered it, it almost sent half of Death Mountain raining down on us!" And Yunobo didn't question; the boss was right after all. With the aid of the Champion Link, they had managed to make the problem go away. Why do anything more?

Yunobo had never been much of a thinker. He could admit that. He liked to simply find the world beautiful, not wonder how it came to be, or what it could become. But Rudania – and the Champion - had made Yunobo think; _shouldn't I be doing more?_ He was descended from Lord Daruk, wasn't he? The Goron Champion of old, who had fought bravely against Ganon? _Wasn't I brave, when Link and I pushed Rudania into the mountain?_

The sun was past the zenith. Yunobo only had an hour for a break, and he knew he was already pushing his luck by travelling so far from the mines. Turning his back on the lowlands, he tucked his limbs in close and rolled his way through the rocky hills and bubbling hot springs, back to the bustling Goron City.

Bludo's house was packed to the brim when he arrived; his brothers pressed in close around the boss as they laughed, and told stories of showmanship and strength. But the topic today, it seemed, was graver than normal.

"They shut down that new bridge entirely! Can you believe it Bludo? All of Gerudo completely cut off!" One of the travelling traders had pushed to the front of the crowd, his pack overstuffed with gems. Yunobo caught sight of a diamond, peeking out over the top of the bag.

"Of course I can believe it," Bludo said. "My Father told me only two things are certain in Hyrule: the rumble of the mountain and the pride of the Zora!"

Bludo's house erupted with a round of laughter, low guffaws that were almost an earthquake unto themselves. Yunobo pushed his way through the crowd.

"Zora's Domain shut as well," the trader went on. "My whole trip, wasted!"

"Aye, even the Hylians in Hateno were hesitant to trade," said another Goron, his pack as full as the first trader's. "What's the use, they said, when it sounds like there's another Calamity around the corner?"

"Well that's just nonsense," scoffed Bludo. "This is a petty squabble, nothing more."

"I don't know about that, Bludo," the first trader shrugged. "There was fighting, at the Gatepost Town Ruins. I saw it myself, boss. Gerudo travellers, and some Zora soldiers on the way to the Bridge. Both killed in the fight! Apparently, some Hylians tried to break them up, and they were killed as well!"

Bludo pounded his fist in an open palm. "Squabbles! Bickering among fools!"

"Isn't the Zora King dead?" Yunobo finally said, feeling as though the room had turned to look. "I mean, it sounds like war to me."

Bludo's face had darkened; the boss was evidently not fond of such grim conversation. "War or no, it doesn't affect us. We don't rely on trade, not the Gorons. We trade as a courtesy." Bludo leant back in his rocky chair. "We will wait this out. Let them butt heads, let them bruise, pick themselves up, and return as they were."

"You don't think we should do something?" Yunobo pressed. "This sounds serious, boss."

"What could we do, Yunobo? Tell them to stop!?" Bludo slammed his fist down against the arm of his chair. The other Gorons were laughing once again.

"But it just isn't right! To do nothing!"

Bludo shook his head. "Doing _something_ isn't always better," He looked at the clock. "But anyway, break's over boys!"

Bludo signalled to a Goron at the edge of the room, and soon the rambunctious blare of a brass horn sounded through the city. The Gorons filed out of the house, rolling or walking back to their work. Yunobo began to follow, but Bludo caught him with a hand to his shoulder.

"Listen, Yunobo," he said with a smile, "If you want something to do, go check on Rudania again. Take Aji and Grido. They won't shut up about getting a closer look."

Begrudgingly, Yunobo led the brothers towards the Bridge of Eldin to climb the mountain. Once they passed the bridge, it became too steep to roll, and the rumbles that continued to come from the volcano made the hiking slow. But eventually, they reached the top, to where the Beast was huddled against the edge.

"Wouldja look at that, Aji?" grinned Grido. "I almost agree with wide-eyes over here, shame we aren't allowed to pilot it. Remember when it was walking around the mountain?"

Aji thumped his chest. "Aye, course. Raining rocks down on us from dawn to dusk!"

"How do you think we would pilot it?" Yunobo asked, gazing up at Rudania's conical face.

"Who knows, goro?" Grido shrugged.

"Nobody living," Aji added.

 _That isn't true_ , Yunobo thought, though he had no idea where Link was, or how to find him. In any case, the Champion was probably out doing what Yunobo could not; helping end this strange conflict in the lowlands. _That's what heroes do_ , Yunobo concluded.

The trio of Gorons reached the peak and approached Rudania's front legs to make the climb into the Beast. But just as they reached the stone colossus, the glowing lights that covered its body suddenly flickered, and with a warbling groan, the Beast lowered its head and powered down.

* * *

 _Don't think. Just fall._

Warrior and Princess arced down from the waterfall edge like a pair of falling stars, wrapped in a desperate embrace, half-enveloped by a gleaming barrier of light.

Zelda had her right hand out in front of them; the Royal Crest shone, and from its brilliance she raised a curved shield, inwardly praying that it would hold when they landed. Beneath her, Teba was still unconscious, unable to help slow the descent.

The air streamed past her ears, the shock of the cold setting her skin alight. She had almost been winded when they crested over the lip of the waterfall, the air hitting her chest like a hammer. But she held Teba as tight as she could, and chose, for once, to believe that she had made the right choice.

When they hit the rocks, Zelda didn't feel a thing, except the shudder of the impact, and the flood of icy water against her skin as they bounced into the water. She was plunged deep beneath the surface and - for a suspended, terrifying moment - her vision went black. She flailed against the churn of the waters, reaching out helplessly to try and find Teba amongst the chaos.

As sudden as the fall itself, he was there before her - awake, eyes swimming with questions. In the absence of the ability to ask - where and how and why - he wrapped a wing around her and pulled her upwards. Zelda surrendered into his grip, her part in their survival complete. Together, they broke the surface of the lower lake of the Hebra Plunge. The cliffs were pressed in close, the water around them seemingly endless. Zelda gasped and swallowed water, assaulted by the relentlessness of it.

"Tulin!" Teba called to her, but Zelda shook her head.

"Too late," she managed between shallow breaths as she struggled to stay afloat. Her limbs screamed in protest, icy water driving deep into her skin. Zelda could barely see, barely breathe. The water was everywhere.

"We need to go back!" Teba insisted.

" _No!_ " Zelda swam frantically, pulling Teba forwards. The shore in the distance seemed so small, so far away, and the lake so vast. He was resisting, treading water and looking back up the waterfall. "Teba!" she cried. Her lungs were empty, filling with water. With a last desperate breath, " _Please._ I can't."

At last her strength gave out, and she slipped beneath the water again, until Teba wrenched her back up.

"On my back!" he said as the water drained from her eyes. Without argument Zelda managed to wrap her arms around Teba's neck, flailing against the waves to slump against him. In long arcs Teba brought his wings across the surface, carrying them to the shore. Under her dead weight he seemed to struggle, and by the time he had deposited her onto the greyed sand, he was panting.

"The hell did you- _huff-_ come after me for?" Teba demanded, pressing himself up onto his knees. He heaved through another round of pants. "If you can't- _huff_ -swim?!"

Zelda lay on her back, head sinking in the sand. She felt it chafe against her neck. "I had to," she breathed. "You would have died."

"I was _fine_ ," Teba said. He stood from the shore and peered over his shoulder, across the mirror-like surface of the lake. "We need to go back."

Shaking, Zelda propped herself up onto her elbows. " _Rocks,_ Teba," she rasped. "We hit the rocks!"

"We couldn't have," Teba shook his head. He was a motley mix of reds and blacks and browns, Zelda noticed, from the arrows and the debris and the burns. "If we hit the rocks we'd be dead."

" _What do you think happened?_ " She was incensed, rattling like a leaf in the wind. When she spoke, she felt the blue of her lips.

"I don't know, I-"

"Do you think we just missed them, somehow?" Zelda went on, clambering weakly to her feet. She thrust her palm towards Teba, conjuring another curved light barrier. "Look!" She pressed harder, making him look at it. "I _saved_ you. Saved _us_!"

Her hands were trembling, and soon her power gave out, the barrier shattering into mist. She fell to her knees, broken under the exhaustion, shivering ferociously at the cold that pervaded her soaked gear.

"Okay, okay, _crap_ ," Teba rushed forward to catch her, wrapping an injured wing around her and pulling her once more to her feet. "I'm sorry, Rowan, I'm sorry I just-" his voice broke, and he keened over, shuddering through a sudden, visceral sob. "This is all my fault. It's all me. Dammit, Rowan. My _son_ …"

They sat huddled together on the shore, both broken and shivering. The water was lapping at Zelda's feet. Around them, the snow was still falling. A snowflake landed on her lips, sending a pique of pain blossoming on her cracked skin.

"Let's go, come on," she muttered through chattering teeth. She eyed the towering cliffs. "We need to find shelter."

Arm over wing, they stumbled together away from the lake, finding a small cave hollowed out into the rocks of the cliffs. By the time they made it out of the snow and into the shelter, Zelda was shaking uncontrollably, her limbs swollen and sore. The cold was burning - she supposed that was why she felt warm somehow; warm, and sleepy, and soft. Teba released his hold of her, and she curled up on the floor of the cave, huddling into herself.

"Shit… no, no..." Teba muttered, gripping her by the shoulders, attempting to unravel her from her cocoon. "Don't drift off."

Zelda fought to keep her eyes open. "The Slate…" she whispered. "L-Link always kept… f-firewood."

She closed her eyes, and Teba shook her again. "Where is it?" he pressed. He felt warm. He was holding her, his warm feathers against her. Zelda's eyelids fluttered open, and she saw blue.

 _Your dedication is quite impressive, Princess. And dedication deserves its own reward._

"I just wish I knew what to do," Zelda murmured, speaking to a long-lost voice. "You always seem so sure…"

"The Slate! C'mon, _please_ ," Teba pleaded. She wasn't hearing him. _You will find a way,_ said the voice.

"Father says it's my destiny…"

The world shook. Her head was a storm, waves crashing against a stony shore. "I'm not losing you too," came a gruff voice from above. "It's Zelda, isn't it? Your real name? Stay with me, Zelda."

 _Well, I happen to believe in destiny, even when it deigns to work against me._

"I'm sorry, Revali," Zelda murmured. "You're still my friend."

" _Zelda!"_

She blinked. Teba was beside her. The dream dissipated.

"I-I'm s-sorry," she said, her teeth chattering. She reached to her belt and found the Slate hidden underneath the red Rito sash wrapped around her waist. "In the… in the inventory…" Zelda said, handing the Slate to Teba. "You'll find it..." She laid back on the cold ground.

"I believe in you," she whispered, fading into unconsciousness, and to whom she spoke she wasn't sure.

* * *

It was nighttime when Zelda woke, and she opened her eyes to a swath of orange-red light and the sensation of searing heat against skin. Her arms were bare. When she sat up, she found that her boots were gone and that the outer layer of her snowquill gear - the chest piece and the downy coat and pants - were drying on the floor by the fire next to her. Teba was sitting on the other side of the fire, cross-legged, squinting as he preened his feathers. She looked down and realised that all she wore were her cotton leggings and a still-damp bodice.

"You undressed me," she said weakly, almost accusing. A gust blew past the cave entrance, howling, and in the distance, the lake brightened under a flash of lightning.

Teba raised a brow. "You wanted me to let you freeze?"

She wrapped her arms around herself, reminding herself of where they were, and how close they had already come to death; the concern suddenly feeling petty.

She placed a hand on the snowquill gear. It was still wet, almost entirely soaked through. Her head throbbed. "How… how long?" she asked.

"Couple hours."

The Sheikah Slate was lying by her side, its purpose to Teba spent. She switched it on and looked through the inventory for some dry clothes. Her white shirt and royal blouse were still among the items; she hadn't worn them since before she and Link set off for Hyrule Castle. Zelda frowned at the fine clothes. Perhaps they would fit in size, but not in spirit.

So in the absence of anything else to wear, Zelda donned Link's Champion tunic and undershirt, finding her old black pants and leather travelling boots in the inventory. The tunic smelt of earth, and grass, of horsehair and sea salt. It smelt of the fields of Central Hyrule, of the rain of Akkala, the salts of Lanayru and the spices of Gerudo. She wrapped her arms around herself, and for a moment he was with her.

The familiarity brought comfort and loss in equal measure; the memories of her time with him reminding her that she had never stopped to appreciate any of it. Hyrule at their feet, alone in the world save each other; all relegated to memory, just like everything else.

"Now you look even more like him, Sparrow," Teba commented, and Zelda's eyes stung with tears. She wiped them away insolently, refusing to cry. She had been determined to weep no longer, _determined_ to silence the sorrow within herself. Rowan had no need for tears, but then who was she kidding? Rowan never existed. Zelda would have to do.

"I hope he is having a better time than we are," she muttered, resting her head on her knees.

A grunt came from across the fire, and Zelda looked up to see Teba gripping the arrow still embedded in his wing. She realised only then how badly injured he truly was. The feathers on his left side were either singed or missing entirely, burnt away by the bomb arrow that had exploded at his feet. Dotted across his wings were spots of blood, and there was gash across his right shoulder. In his left was the broken arrow, though he had snapped off the sharp tip. Teba breathed hard to steel himself, and, pinching the skin around where the arrow had pierced him, he pulled the shaft from his wing, beak clenched tight to stifle his groan.

"Do you need any help?" Zelda asked. "There might be something in the Slate."

"It's fine. Superficial. The arrow hit cartilage. Hurts, yeah, but won't leave a mark."

But still Teba hissed as he gingerly tested his wing, and Zelda crawled around the fire to his side, taking the Sheikah Slate with her. "I've got bandages," she said, motioning to the deep cut on his shoulder. "You can't let that get infected."

Teba shifted his right side towards her and nodded for her to begin. Materialising a roll of bandages from the Slate, Zelda set to work.

"I should apologise," Teba said, looking into the fire. "I… I made a mistake, and I made you go along with it. We're here because of me. I know what you must think."

Zelda nodded, feeling a smile tease the corners of her lips. "I _happen_ to think you're a fool." She pressed a layer of gauze over the cut and expected Teba to flinch. He did not move. "But I think we're all foolish around the people we care about, Teba."

 _And I know you still care about Yahn._

"You speaking from experience?" Teba asked, clearly deflecting.

"I am," Zelda admitted.

"Link?"

"Who else?" she said with a laugh, though her eyes stung. His name still hurt. She began to wrap the bandages around Teba's shoulder. "We were both fools. And looking back… I don't know what kept us together. All we did was argue."

"That's normal, trust me," Teba said, the implication clear; _I'm married_.

"Really? You don't think people should get along?"

"It's not about 'getting along'," Teba said. He winced, but then sat up straighter, and Zelda knew what it meant. Storytime. "Listen," he said, and Zelda listened. "When I began to court Saki, I was the best warrior in the village. No one had a better eye than me. No one was faster than I was. But once she accepted I… I dunno - I slacked off. I had a girl, and the showmanship, it felt unnecessary. I still trained but I didn't improve. She soured, she was always on my case - you should do this, why don't you help Kaneli with that, you should work on your spearmanship, I'm worried you could be injured in a hunt. When we argued about it, I thought it meant we weren't right. But you know what she told me? I fight with you because I _know_ you, and I know the _best_ you, and I want that Teba to be my husband. That was how it happened, actually. I didn't propose," he chuckled sadly. "Saki demanded the best of me, and the best version of me was married to her."

"I fight with you because I know you…" Zelda repeated, looking out to the waters beyond the cave. _Because I love you_.

It was as simple as that, and she was stunned by how natural it felt. How _normal_. And as quick as the revelation had come, it had passed. Shock subsiding into acceptance; a truth long known. Zelda looked down and realised she had stopped working the bandages and was holding them limply between her fingers. They began to shake, but not from the cold.

"She challenged me," Teba went on. "Had things not… gone wrong with Yahn, those years ago. Had I not… stopped caring…"

Zelda finished with the bandages, securing them as tightly as she could. The tears were rolling down her cheeks and she no longer cared. She shook with rage; at the world, and at herself.

"Then fix things, Teba," she said coldly.

"Oh, simple as that," he retorted. "Tulin is either dead or hates me, and Saki will never forgive me either way."

"Will you listen to yourself!?" she snapped. Teba recoiled away from her, affronted, but Zelda did not let up. " _Of course_ Tulin is struggling. _You_ don't believe in yourself."

"Zelda," Teba chided, frowning. "Don't-"

"You said Saki demands the best of you; well, I do too!" She was livid then. How dare he wield her own name against her! "And I know that might not matter, you don't have to pretend we're friends-"

"Listen, that isn't fair-"

"But you push people away because you think it will make you strong. You tell them you don't love them because the alternative is that they may not love you. And then you regret it and look like a complete fool-"

"I think you're projecting now-"

"So what if I am?" she cried, her voice booming through the cave. "I'm not the one afraid to rescue my own son!"

"Alright, enough!" Teba barked. "Damnit, I am not that heartless. Of course we're going to get Tulin."

"Good!" Zelda nodded. And then, tight-lipped, her hands clasped together. "Good. That's what… _ahem_ … that was what I was expecting."

"Good," Teba said wryly, amused by the outburst. "And listen, you've saved my life twice now, Sparrow. I'm not _pretending_ we're friends," he placed a wing on her shoulder, adding, "but don't tell Kass, alright, we have a bet on it."

Zelda grinned. _You big fool._ She leant back, resting on her hands, feeling the cold stone of the cave.

"Well, now that we're friends," she said, "you're going to tell me what happened with Yahn."

Teba shifted, receding from her, but Zelda placed a hand on his wing, and he relented, his back straightening once more. "It isn't a nice story," Teba warned.

"I have room for one more tragedy," Zelda said.

"You sound like Kass," he snickered, and then sighed. "But… alright."

Teba began the tale as Zelda materialised another log of firewood from the Slate, throwing it into the fire.

"I was young. Like I said, the best warrior in the village. Saki encouraged me to take on an apprentice. I wasn't sure, but she seemed to think it was a good idea. Yahn's father Yinli was a family friend. And Yahn was… how do I put this… an under-achiever. Yinli thought that since I was the best, I would be the best choice."

"Yinli…" Zelda murmured. The name seemed familiar. She sifted through the catalogue of names and faces she had encountered. _Larella, Nell, Paya, Leena…_ where did this name fit?

Teba continued, eyes fixed on the gradually rising flames. "Yahn was only a teenager, but he was a good enough student. He learned quickly. We had him wielding a mechanical Falcon within a year, and he always said he'd soon good enough for his father's bow. Yinli was happy. Yahn was happy. I married Saki. Tulin was born. It was a good time."

 _But times always change, and time always changes,_ Zelda thought, anticipating the rest.

Teba's voice softened, and his hardened face _sunk_. "Maybe I didn't push him hard enough. Maybe I made too many excuses. He started slowing down, slacking off, and I told myself that maybe tomorrow he'd be better." He began to ball his wingtips into fists. "I avoided Yinli. I dreaded lessons. I tried to solve the problem by ignoring it. When I realised that he was just _bored_ , it was too late. And he just… quit. He left. Said he was no longer interested, and that he was going to travel for a while and come back when he was ready. And… I let him go. I wished him well."

When he was done, Teba looked down at his fists and, slumping forward, he crossed his wings at his chest.

Zelda spoke as gently as she could. "How long ago did this happen?"

"Just under ten years."

"Teba…" Zelda sighed. "You've held onto it this long?"

"Well, it's like you said," Teba shrugged, his drawn face lifting into a weak smile when he looked at her. "We're fools for the people we care about."

"And did you see him after that?"

"A few times. Each time worse. He'd grown spiteful. Crass. Acted like we'd never met like I was nothing to him. Beneath him. The last time I saw him, he said leaving the village was the best thing he'd ever done. He told me he pitied me, and when he left, just like each time he left, I wished him well."

"He was cruel to you," Zelda assured him.

"Maybe. But what happened was my fault," Teba began to collect himself, resuming the facade of the unfeeling warrior. But Zelda saw the cracks and the sorrow that infiltrated the wall he had built around himself. Teba went on, "And even then, part of me blamed Saki. She told me to take on an apprentice, after all. And things _changed_ between us. I thought with Tulin; I might have a second chance. I resolved to work harder. To not fail my son the way I failed Yahn. And… well…"

"You haven't yet failed your son. You know that, don't you?" Zelda told him. She felt the sorrow catch, the ache in her chest where she shared in Teba's pain, and in a small voice, she said, "Tulin _loves_ you. He risked his life just to be with you."

Teba sighed. "Too many people throwing themselves at death for me," he said. He lifted his wings, testing them again, wincing at the pain, but conquering it. "Time to repay the favour."

* * *

The hungry flames within his lamp ate the paper, devouring the letters and symbols, turning them into black ash that Link rubbed into the floor of his bedchamber with the toe of his boot.

Now there was no Sheikah Code but the one he held in his mind; the one Robbie had taught him. He sat down at his desk and peered through the tiny window towards West Hyrule. By the dim candlelight he could just make out the concentric swirls, and arcing lines etched in Divine Beast Vah Medoh. He looked and told himself to feel nothing. The sky was beginning to brighten. Inglis would be there to fetch him soon.

They'd served him honey with his porridge for breakfast that morning, and he'd failed to remain unaffected. _Forget her_ , he demanded of himself. But the smell of it was a punch to the gut, and a warm embrace, and a lance through the heart all at once; he could practically hear her laughter and see her red cheeks, her fingers dug into the hexagonal cells of the beehive as the honey and apples boiled in the pot. _Goddess, Link, what a mess we've made._

"One giant mess," Link whispered to the girl in the memory. "That's all it is."

Taking a pen in hand, he made a new list of symbols. Those which he had already 'decoded'. His name, Inglis' name, Aurelia's name, the symbols for yes, no, stop, danger, TB-DOWN, amongst other things; the curved Hylian alphabet with its Sheikah Code counterpart. Just enough to show some progress. Not enough to be what Cinelgen needed.

And then, flipping through the pages, he found his page of questions. _Is it alive? Does it have a name?_ Crossed out, with _Rhoamet_ written beside it. _Can it speak? Can it think?_

 _What would she think of all this?_ That was crossed out too. No time for memories. Not anymore.

And then below, fingers tracing the writing, he read the next set of questions,

 _Who were they before they came here?_ _What do they owe each other?_

The Akkalan boy, the Yiga woman, and the Gerudo man; his captors, and the leaders of the bandits. The Trio. Inseparable. But were they? Difficul _t to know._ Link had begun collecting the answers in tidbits during their dinner conversations but wrote none of it down. The details came in snippets, in slips of the tongue. Cinna and Mila became bladed Yiga in the same year; Inglis is from Akkala. Cinna taught Inglis to fight. Mila held some position of power among the Yiga. Cinna is fond of cinnamon because it's best when you don't notice it, but overpowering when too much is added.

"You can see he takes his namesake a little too seriously," Mila had quipped to Link, lips pressed thin, a fondness amongst her disapproval.

Beneath the questions, Link wrote a single conclusion: _Maybe they're not as complex as they seem._

There was a rap on his door - _finally_ \- and instinctively, Link snapped the notebook shut. The sun was well and truly up by the time Inglis arrived, and he had a strange colour to his face, his neat brown hair a little askew.

Link grinned at him, eyebrows raised. His smile said: _I know why y_ o _u're late._

"We going or what?" Inglis said sternly.

"Lead the way," Link smirked.

The questions played on his mind. _Who were you_? A few months ago, Cinelgen's bandits had seemed like an irrepressible force. But he'd seen them, all of them. He'd seen them slobber over their food at dinner and down wine in barrels. They were just people. Even the Yiga in their angry reds, their eyes hungry as they watched Link pass. Just people; just idiots like him, trying their best to survive.

So who was Inglis?

"You and Mila have fun this morning?" Link goaded as they walked through the carpeted hallways of the Royal Apartments. Inglis was on him in a second, quick as ever, strong-arming Link up against the fading wallpaper that smelt of ruin and sawdust. It was as simple as a jab to the ribs and a sharp shove to push Inglis off of him.

He frowned as he watched Inglis clamber to his feet, the concern genuine. "You need to calm down, Inglis," he said. "Isn't Cinna your friend?"

"At least I have friends," Inglis shot back, dusting himself off, readjusting his already dishevelled tunic. _Must have really gone for it_ , Link thought.

Inglis wrapped a tight hand around Link's arm, and began ushering him back down the hallway; he had lost the privilege of walking without binds.

"I had friends, actually," Link muttered as they walked out into the Eastern Passage. "You put them in the Lockup."

"Is that why you haven't decided to escape yet?" Inglis teased. "Afraid of what we'll do to them?"

"No," Link answered. _Not that_ you _would do anything to them, Inglis._

"Then why not?"

Link shrugged and spoke like the words meant nothing. "Hyrule is a mess. The Princess is dead. Maybe it's alright here." He wiggled out of Inglis' grip. "When you're not jumping me."

Inglis regarded him with muted scepticism, but Link returned the gaze with an empty smile. The Hylian puffed out his cheeks and shook his head. "No wonder Cinna likes you," he resigned as they neared the Gatehouse. "You're just as crazy as he is."

Link chewed his lip, peering up at the Castle. He thought of the automaton waiting for him. He thought of the simmering civil tensions in the lands beyond. He thought of the Princess out there, _somewhere_ , dealing with his decision to send her away. And he thought of the plan in his head.

 _Maybe I am_.

Rhoamet greeted him with a a single raised leg and a now familiar pattern; ●●●●, ●▬●●

 _Hello Link_

"Hey buddy," Link replied. "Diagnostic? Beam still broken?"

▬ ● ▬ ▬; _Yes_

Link did a quick scan of the room. Aurelia was sat cross-legged against the Gatehouse wall, inspecting the finish of the curved blade of her halberd. She had started to wear her blonde hair long, and it shone in the morning light. Inglis stood at Link's side, leaning slightly against his halberd, the weapon no longer needed. Once Rhoamet had gotten used to them, it seemed to pose no threat whatsoever.

 _He wasn't designed to attack people,_ Link had written in his notebook. _Just monsters._

Link squinted up at the parapets, expecting to see the looming gaze of his Gerudo captor. He saw nothing and no one.

"No Cinna today?" he asked Inglis. Inglis' face was drawn, his lips pressed thin, wide jaw clenched.

"I can't say," he said. Link sighed and turned his attention back to Rhoamet, but inside he was smiling. _Something's happening_.

The Guardian was waiting, sitting before them with its legs huddled close to its body, single beady eye watching passively. It caught him looking and stood, ready to begin.

Link thumbed through his notebook until he arrived at the page he needed, and the questions he had been asking himself for a few days now.

Looking up at Rhoamet, he said, "When were you built?" and he focused as the Guardian answered.

 _Before_ , it said.

Link furrowed his brows, scribbling in his notebook. "Before?"

 _Today._

"Before… today?"

 _Yes._

"You think it has a sense of time?" Aurelia called from where she sat. "They say dogs don't, but cats do. It's why they're so mean."

"Are you a cat person then, Aurelia?" Inglis shot back. She scoffed and muttered, _I might be_.

Link ignored them. "Do you remember the Calamity?" he asked the Guardian. "The burning fields? The Beast in the Castle?"

Rhoamet began to blink; three letters that it had often been using in recent days as Link's questions became more complex. I. D. U.

 _I don't understand._

"Do you remember anything?" Link pressed. "What you were for?"

 _I don't understand._

"See!" Aurelia clapped. She stood, and walked to Link's side. "No sense of time. Why would he? He's a laser with legs."

Link sighed. A dead end. In the sparse visits he had been able to make to Robbie, the Sheikah had explained that in all his research, he had never been able to figure out _how_ the Guardians were used in combat. Only that they came in different shapes and sizes, and that certain Guardians had delineated functions. The rest of his knowledge? Conjecture. Theories. Based on ancient husks and the frantic observations of hostile Guardians. Link looked up to the roof of the Gatehouse, to the boards that had been haphazardly nailed to the windows to keep Rhoamet contained; light was streaming through the cracks. He could not go to Robbie now.

He tucked his notebook into his hooded vest and took a deep breath. There was no easy way to ask.

"Rhoamet, I need to find a way to remove your head cap. See what's going on with this beam."

The Guardian did not move. Its body radiated a cool blue, and it sat down.

▬ ▬ ▬, ▬●▬ ; _Okay_

"Do you know how?"

 _No._

 _Do you trust me, Rhoamet?_ Link wanted to ask but knew that likely the automaton wouldn't understand. Trust was elusive. Trust was a drop of water running free. It was only there in the moment. And maybe Aurelia was right. Without a sense of time, how could it trust anything?

"Hold still," Link instructed, and he stepped forward towards the Guardian. He climbed up onto its shell, using the ornamental swirls for grip. The automaton reeled backwards, its mechanical head jolting towards him, its shell flashing from blue to orange and finally to pink.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Inglis cried out, his shouts echoed by an equally concerned Aurelia. "What are you doing!?"

"Fixing him," Link called back. Both of his guards had their halberds pointed forwards, stepping across the dirt floor as Rhoamet scrambled backwards. Link held tight, gripping one of the three ear-like handles to pull himself up.

Situating himself on top of the head cap, he knelt down and patted the side of the automaton's head.

"It's okay, it's just me," he said as he fought to maintain his footing. Rhoamet's head spun around from side to side, and he walked in backwards circles, trying helplessly and pointless to evade Link. But eventually, as Inglis and Aurelia waited with their halberds ready, the Guardian calmed. Link patted the side of his head again, _all good._

"Is he saying anything?" he called down to the two Hylian guards.

"No, at least I don't think so," Aurelia called back. "He's gone blue. I think you're all good."

Link nodded, satisfied that it was safe to begin. "Tell me if he starts talking."

Careful not to move too quickly, he wrapped his hands around one of the ear-like handles atop Rhoamet's head cap, testing its weight and feeling for any movement. It was as big as him, the curved hook on the back of the handle rising almost a foot out from the domed head. He felt a rattle - a shift - something moving under the force of his hands, and he began to push the component _out_ and away from the cap, leaning all of his body weight into the effort. His boots scraped against the ancient stone beneath him as he heaved against the enormous handle until with a shuddering _click_ , it unlatched from the head cap. Rotating on a hidden hinge, the handle rolled away from Link and thudded against the side of the domed head. Link hung down over the edge of the head cap, peering down at the Rhoamet's cyclops eye.

"You okay?"

 _Yes,_ the Guardian answered.

 _Time to do the others_ _then_ , Link affirmed, and one by one, he unlatched the other two handles until all three hung down the side of the headcap.

"Okay, we don't know what's under here," Link muttered down to Rhoamet. "Can you power yourself down, buddy?" He climbed around to the Guardian's front to see the response.

 _Yes._

"Simple enough," Link chuckled, and watched as Rhoamet's lights went faint. He motioned to Inglis and Aurelia, who were watching with gaping mouths and angled halberds. "C'mon," he told them. "This thing will be heavy."

The head cap was immense, taller than all three of them. But it was surprisingly easy to lift, the ancient material deceptively light. With a coordinated heave, they raised the head cap up and over Rhoamet's internal structure, gingerly - and awkwardly - lowering it to the ground.

And within, gleaming in the faint light that trickled in through the boarded windows, at the centre of a clockwork of gears, springs, and shafts - was a diamond. Gargantuan, and shining, and shattered into half a dozen pieces.

* * *

They travelled at night, preferring flight over footsteps through the snow. It had taken two days for Teba to regain enough strength to fly, and when he finally announced he was ready to have his retribution, he surprised Zelda by offering to fly them both to the Eastern bokoblin camp.

"I thought the Rito were too proud to be made mounts?" Zelda teased, though she was secretly happy not to have to climb up the ravine.

"It isn't our fault the rest of Hyrule wasn't smart enough to grow wings," Teba grumbled.

Shielded by the blanketed dark, and the ever fall of the snows, Zelda and Teba staked out the Rito camp. The skull-shaped bokoblin cave was glowing under a faint campfire, and silhouetted against the light Zelda could see the jagged points of the sharpened-trunk fence that encircled the camp. From her survey with the Sheikah scope, she found that the Rito party now consisted of Yahn, Rylen, Orli, the remaining Hylian bandit, and the slim, grey-feathered Rito who had kidnapped Tulin. Two against five. Uncomfortable odds.

"Any ideas?" she asked Teba. He hummed, deep in thought, his wings crossed at his chest. Uncomfortable odds indeed, if he was stumped.

Zelda took stock, trying to put herself in a strategist's shoes. Assessing the situation, weighing their options; an emulation of a knight she had once known. Teba's wounds had begun to heal, scabs forming and dead feathers shedding. But he was still injured. And Zelda could fight. She flexed her right hand, calling forth the Royal Symbol, focusing on the weight of the bow at her back. She _had_ fought, many times now. But she was no hero.

 _These people work for Cinelgen. They have kidnapped an innocent child._

This was no place for heroes, she decided. Not here. Not anywhere. Not anymore.

"We take no chances," Teba said finally. Zelda recognised the look on his face. All Knights looked the same. "They have my son."

"Of course."

"We need to be quick," Teba went on. "So quick they don't see us coming. Create a distraction. Grab Tulin. Get the hell out."

She spoke quietly, now aware of the sensitivity of the question. "And what about Yahn?"

"What _about_ him?"

"What are you going to do when you see him?"

Teba shrugged and reached up to his injured shoulder to adjust his bandages. "Depends," he said calmly. "Could be I do nothing. Could be I kill him."

"Wait - _really?_ He was your apprentice."

"He has my _son_ , Zelda. Nothing else matters. I would burn that camp to the ground to save him." Teba's eyes narrowed, appraising the camp with a simmering rage. "And maybe I will."

Zelda looked at the line of sharpened trunks and felt her anger stew within her. The Rito were no longer just Cingelgen's bandits. They were the Gerudo in name and spirit. They had caused chaos untold. They had torn her kingdom to pieces. They had taken her best friend from her. Teba's words were a guidance, and instruction; save those you love, and destroy the rest.

She unhooked the Sheikah Slate from her belt, an idea forming in her head. "I can help with that."

Teba and Zelda advanced on the camp in bursts, bolting from tree to tree, closing the distance with nothing but the stars as their witness. Finally, they could go no further, the trees ending at a patch of bare land surrounding the camp.

 _Trust Link to keep more fire arrows in his inventory than regular ones,_ Zelda thought as she pulled a trio of magic-enhanced arrows from the Sheikah Slate, their angular tips radiating a soft crimson. Teba watched her from behind a nearby tree as she unshouldered her white-gold bow.

"Remember, Sparrow," Teba whispered harshly. "Nothing teaches aim like the fear of missing."

"I'm not going to miss," she shot back.

"That's Revali talking. Ignore him."

Zelda took a deep breath. She hummed the song as she focused, nocked the arrow, and loosed it at the camp bounds. It landed in between a pair of sharpened trunks, and so she drew the second, loosing it towards the other side of the camp, and finally the third, towards the section of the camp bounds directly in front of their hiding spot in the trees.

Within moments the encirclement of tree trunks was afire, three bursting flames illuminating the dark camp and sending billows of black smoke out into the night air.

Shouts erupted from with the camp; Zelda knew that it was their cue. Leaping out from behind the trees, Teba and Zelda met halfway to take flight together, ascending high above the camp.

Beneath them, the bandits were scrambling to the flames, frantically throwing snow against the tree trunks. Wasting no time, Teba and Zelda landed atop the skull-shaped cave and went completely unnoticed in the chaos.

"Take no chances!" Teba shouted to her, and they descended into the cave through the eyehole windows that had been carved into its side.

She landed hard, the suddenness of the ground beneath her feet sending a shockwave of pain arching up her legs. But she kept to their plan, and raising her right hand towards the cave entrance, she held a golden barrier across its mouth.

"Surprise, asshole," Teba growled, and Zelda turned to see him advancing on Yahn, who was crouched by a small fire in the cave. Behind him, huddled up against the wall with his wings bound was an elated Tulin, and Zelda noted with an overwhelming sense of relief that he was not harmed.

Yahn vaulted backwards, wrapping his uninjured wing around Tulin's throat. In his other, which was bandaged with mottled-looking rags, he held a thin knife to the fledgeling's throat. Teba froze. Zelda had to remind herself to breathe, and in the tense silence, she noticed the ubiquitous blue and white piece of fabric that she had seen too many times now, tied around Yahn's injured wing.

"I just want my son," he raised his wings to his head.

"Oh, I know. But I want something else of yours." He nodded to Zelda. "His life for hers."

"Teba..." Zelda cautioned. The other bandits of the camp were desperately trying to push through Zelda's barrier. She felt each blow they brought down across it, but held firm.

"Do they know?" Teba asked, motioning towards the Rito beyond the cave. "Rylen? Orli? They're just normal kids. Do they know who they work for?"

"They work for me."

"But they work for _him_ , don't they? The Gerudo." Teba countered. "Do they _know_?"

Yahn bristled, and wrapped his wing tighter around Tulin's neck. "They know only what they need to; that they are helping our people in ways that you, or that _Princess_ there never could."

"Helping how?" Zelda demanded.

"Wait - neither of you knows? I was told you'd been to the Castle," Yahn said, beginning to laugh. "You _kill_ my father and come here acting coy?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Zelda insisted.

Teba gave a start. " _Yinli's dead_?"

"Killed by this one, so I was told!" Yahn pointed an accusing finger towards Zelda. "But I won't say who by. Though I don't know why she kept you in the dark. She wanted so desperately to believe what she was doing was right, I suppose."

Teba bowed his head. _Saki_. It was clear who Yahn spoke of. The Warrior looked up at his former apprentice, and in a small, resigned voice he said, "Just let me take my son, Yahn."

"No!" Yahn roared. "I was sent back to this horrible place, wasting my days away in that stupid Beast and now the damn thing might kill me! I will take that girl!"

 _The Beast?_ Zelda looked at Yahn's injured wing. Had he been injured inside Vah Medoh? Could he be hurt… the same way Sidon had been?

"You've been working on Vah Medoh," she said slowly. "All this time."

"You think we camp out here for fun?" Yahn hissed. Zelda turned back to Teba, her hand trembling. She chided her own stupidity. _Of course, of course! What else would Cinelgen want?_

"Teba, just go," she said. "Take your son and go."

" _No_." Teba snapped. He looked back to Yahn. "You'll take nothing more from me."

Yahn growled and suddenly tossed the knife towards Zelda. She ducked, yelping as she dropped to the ground, and in an instant, her barrier fell. The bandits burst into the cave. In front of her, Teba bolted forward towards Tulin. And above it all, Zelda heard Yahn shout, " _Kill her!_ "

Not a moment later, she felt the world _flip_. There was a clawing sensation across her legs, and the night air rushed past her ears as her hair fell across her face. The rush of blood to her head sent a blinding flash of red across her vision, and when she regained her focus, the cave was dwindling beneath her; above the grey feather had his talons wrapped tight around her legs and was carrying her higher and higher into the air.

Zelda looked down and stifled her scream with a gloved hand. _One way to do it_ , she thought, the Rito's plan dawning on her. A cruel death, for one not smart enough to grow wings.

But she did not need them. Not since the fall from Hebra plunge. Zelda reached for her bow, but when she padded her quiver, she found it empty, the arrows having spilt out during the ascent. She looked at her right hand; the Royal Crest still shone. Perhaps now, she had no need for arrows either.

Because Link's crossbow - despite its novelty - was an otherwise ordinary weapon. And her Sparrow bow was nothing more than a training weapon. The power was in the wielder, not the weapon.

Zelda aimed the bow at the Rito above her, her head spinning as the ground drew further and further away. Below, she caught a glimpse of a duo in green and blue; Rylen, and Orli, seemingly fleeing the camp. Re-centering on the Rito above, she pulled back the string, focusing her power into her hand, and humming the song that she had been taught. In a flash of light, a golden arrow materialised in her hand.

"Do that and you'll die anyway," the grey feather bellowed down at her. He had a neckerchief about his neck, Zelda noticed then. _One of Cinelgen's._

"Then I'll be taking you with me," and she loosed the light-arrow into his neck.

The look on the grey feather's face seemed to be one of both shock and offence, but Zelda had no time to ponder. The ground was racing up to meet her, the blazing circle of sharpened trunks growing in size with each moment. Zelda braced, held out her right hand, and raised an enclosing barrier around herself.

She landed with speed, tumbling across the ground, the dirt and snow in her eyes and hair and mouth. But she was unharmed, while the grey feather lay in a broken heap at her side. She looked the towards the cave where Yahn, and Teba, and most importantly Tulin remained, only to see Teba thrown back from the entrance with force.

"Even half-dead, I'm stronger than you," Yahn bellowed as he advanced on Teba. He held his former teacher's Falcon bow, and spun an arrow between his wingtips. "I always was. And you never let that go!"

The remaining Hylian bandit was slumped inner wall of the cave, Zelda noticed, Yahn's knife embedded firmly in his chest. _Teba's doing_ , she thought as she bolted forward.

"Uh-uh!" Yahn shouted, quickly aiming an arrow at Teba. "No further!"

Zelda could not move. She would not be able to raise her hand in time to protect him.

"You think that's why you were failing, Yahn!?" Teba said, propping himself up. "Is that what Cinelgen told you? That I forced you to leave!"

"What do you care?" Yahn sneered. He advanced, but before he took more than a step, Tulin leapt onto his shoulders, digging his wingtips into the Rito's eyes. Teba rolled, dodging Yahn's sloppily fired arrow, and pulled himself to his feet, jolting forward to punch the Rito bandit in the stomach. He gasped in shock and lurched backwards, Teba's falcon bow flying from his grip while Tulin sprang free, landing deftly in the snow.

Teba forgot his vendetta against Yahn then; forgot about the Rito entirely. He fell to his knees and wrapped Tulin in his wings. Yahn took one last look at Zelda, who had drawn her own bow in his direction, and with a scowl, he took flight to flee northwards.

Once it was over, Zelda took a moment to assess. Two dead bandits; the grey feather, and the Hylian. Three had fled. And all around her, the camp burned. Her eyes were hazy from the smoke.

Teba was weeping, holding Tulin close, and Zelda saw that the young Rito was crying too.

"I'm sorry, Father," he said. "I should have gone home. I didn't want you to fight."

"It's okay, it's okay," Teba said, wrapping his wings tighter around his son. "Neither did I, brave one. Neither did I."

Zelda went to her knees beside them and gently placed a hand on Tulin's shoulder.

"See?" she said gently. "You _were_ brave."

Tulin just nodded, and tucked his head in close to his father's chest.

Zelda tried to savour the moment, but she could not shake Yahn's admission from her mind. Cinelgen wanted control of Vah Medoh, just as he had tried to seize Vah Ruta.

Exhaustion overcame her, and she slumped to the snowed ground, her hand going instinctively to the Sheikah Slate.

"Teba," she said softly. "It's time we went home. To Lake Totori."

The Rito warrior raised his head, his eyes glistening with tears. "Of course."

With a sigh, Zelda added, "We have much work left to do."

* * *

The component that housed the crystal half as large as Link, and so cumbersome to carry that Link and Inglis had to take an end each. Aurelia explained that she would have offered to help, but that she didn't want to risk damaging the delicate piece of ancient machinery.

"More like you can't be bothered," Inglis goaded, but the blonde-haired Hylian just rolled her eyes, and disappeared back to the barracks without a word.

The weight and size of it meant that they had to take a new route back to Link's bedchamber, but Link decided then that there was a better place to bring it.

"Where is Cinna now?" he asked Inglis as they shuffled along the path towards the Castle.

"Throne room," Inglis answered through strained breath. He stopped, and lowered his end of the component to the ground, raising a hand to signal for a break. "Supplicants," he explained as he regained his strength. "All that. It bores him."

Link rolled his shoulders, and shook his hands to ease the soreness from their effort. "Then let's cheer him," he said, wrapping his hands around the component once more. Inglis' concern palpable, but he nodded, and for the first time since they had met, he let Link lead.

Cinelgen's throne room was, as usual, unimproved in appearance. But his numbers had grown - it seemed that more and more Yiga were recalled to the Castle by the day. _Is he paranoid, or just savvy enough to bring them in lest people figure out that they work for him?_

He and Inglis waited towards the edge of the room, and scanning the faces, Link recognised some that he had tussled with in the past. A prison guard that had kept watch over him during his internment; one of Cinelgen's personal guards, a long-faced Gerudo woman named Leena; the freckled-finned Zora that he and Zelda had encountered in the Hyrule Castle Library; and the young boy who they had captured in the same fight. The little Hylian met Link's eyes and scowled, and vaguely, Link recalled fighting the drunkard woman who had accompanied the boy. From the searing hate in the boy's eyes, Link suddenly realised; _was she your mother?_ The thought nibbled at him, at the edge of his consciousness, between his sense of duty to protect, and his detest for Cinna's people.

He asked himself then; _Were we wrong?_

Cinelgen sat limply against the velvet throne, with Milagre at his side. She had forgone her usual navy Yiga suit, and now wore a white tunic with blue trimming, and pair of soft green pants. Framed by the sun that streamed into the throne room, there was no questioning it; she was almost regal. _Like a Queen_. And not just any, but Cinna's Queen. Link looked at Inglis, who was gazing up at her with an almost stunned reverence, and he felt a pang of pity for the young Hylian. The question came back to him, this time echoing with sorrow; _What if they're not as complex as they seem_?

A group of Yiga in their full garb stood before the balcony. Four, all almost equal in height, with curved sickles at their belts. The one to the far left spoke.

"You must understand our concern, Chief," he said. "So many sudden changes. A change in leadership. A change in regime. And then…"

Cinelgen leant forward in his chair, his messy red hair falling across his face, casting it in shadow. "And then…?" he repeated.

The Yiga fidgeted. Beneath their feet, the wooden planks that covered the breach in the floor were stained with ageing blood. "Well, we do now know, Chief," one of the other Yiga said, this one speaking with a woman's voice. "You haven't… you haven't told us anything! And you expect us to follow!"

"I tell you what you need to know," Cinelgen said firmly. "That you are not _important_ enough to be kept in the loop does not mean we do not have plans!"

The first Yiga spoke again, stepping forward. "Us? Not important! We _are_ your regime!"

There was a shift in the court attendees, and Link saw Aurelia with her golden hair step into the room, a sly smile on her face.

"You belong to a dead order!" Cinelgen bellowed. "I rescued you from your idiot Elders, and you question me like this!"

"You killed them!" shouted the female Yiga, and the room bristled with whispers. Link watched, and waited, wondering who would move first. But it was Milagre who stepped forward.

"Brothers, sisters," she addressed them calmly, her hands raised. "Such harsh words do us no good."

The female Yiga drew back, bowing her head. Milagre continued, "Patience is a virtue in which we Yiga are well versed. And already reports are positive. The Gerudo and Zora are locked in conflict. We just need to wait for the right moment, and then we can make our move."

"But how will you know, Lady Secretary?" the first Yiga asked. Milagre smiled, sweeter and more sincere than Link had ever seen from her.

"I trust our Chief," she said, motioning to Cinelgen. "And I trust his judgement."

The four Yiga whispered amongst themselves until finally, the first Yiga spoke. "Very well, and our apologies," he said, and on cue, the four bowed.

Cinelgen just grinned, leaning back in his chair as though the victory were his own, and Link suddenly understood. Milagre might stand at his side. She might be silent at dinner. She might be a shadow against the brightness that danced with him, but she controlled Cinelgen's army, and from that Link saw; she controlled him. _What do they owe each other?_ He asked himself again and now knew that he had more of the answer.

"Ah, Link, Inglis!" came Cinelgen's booming voice from above. "Well now, what do we have here?"

"A development," Link answered, and the Throne Room was beset by another wave of whispers.

Cinelgen stood, a hungry grin on his face. "To my study," he ordered. "I've had enough of this court."

* * *

Link and Inglis placed the housing component down in front of Cinelgen's desk. The Gerudo had taken up office in Rhoam's old office, he noted with some resentment.

"It used to house a diamond, but at some point, the diamond faltered," Link explained as Cinelgen inspected the cylindrical component. "Guardians aren't meant to be active for as long as he was. It deteriorated. Broke. We can fit him with a new one."

"I'll send this to my suppliers," Cinelgen said, leaning down to get a closer look.

Link swallowed, focusing on calming his nerves. "No," he said calmly. "The gem would need to be specially cut for the component. I would… I would prefer to be there."

Cinelgen looked up at him, brows furrowed. "Be where?"

Inglis and Milagre were waiting by the door. He shot them a cursory glance, and cleared his throat. The Zora had apparently closed entrance to their city, and the Gerudo were cut off by the siege on their bridge. There was only one option. "Death Mountain."

"No."

"Listen-"

"No, you listen." Cinelgen stood, raising a pacifying hand to Link. "You have been good to us, but I cannot take that risk."

Link was determined not to lose his focus. The plan had been thought up quickly, with no time to vet, but also no time to doubt. He stood up straighter. "The diamond can't just _be_ a diamond. It has to focus power."

Cinelgen walked back to the desk, leaning against the time-worn wood with his arms at his chest. "I will bring the Gorons here."

Link shook his head, aware of Cinelgen's growing annoyance. "They won't come. You have no Goron allies. But _I_ do."

Cinelgen tapped the desk, drumming his fingers. And then, his face brightening, he slapped it. "Alright, sure!" he beamed. "I'm _bored_ here anyway. We'll take Inglis and Aurelia, and my guards." Cinelgen stepped forward to place his hands on Link's shoulders. "Ah! I'm excited now! A journey to Eldin! I haven't been there in years!"

Link breathed a deep sigh of relief, and smiled weakly when Cinelgen clapped him on the back. But he could not deny, despite the fear at travelling with his captor, the bead of excitement that he felt. The mountain is not the destination he would have chosen - Link would have preferred to go west - but the mountain was one essential thing.

The mountain was out there, beyond the Castle. And out there was where she was.

He smiled as he remembered the words, spoken on an afternoon that shimmered with warmth, and purpose, and regret: _out there is where we should be._

* * *

 ** _A/N: Early update!_ I'm pushing myself to do a five-day turnaround as I have the next chapters pretty well mapped in my head. Thanks guys for your lovely reviews :)**


	15. Truth

The voice behind her was closing in; calling her back, calling for her to stop. _Slow down, my Lady,_ it said, _it isn't safe._

Instead, she pressed further into the raging storm, so hard and fast that the blinding dust and sand scratched at her skin, leaving her raw against the endless desert. But she was not running. She would never flee, no matter what her advisors said. _This is my duty,_ she told herself, and decided then that she would never flinch. Not her. Not the Chief.

The dust storm had closed in a few miles to the north, and so Riju had no choice but to rely on her instincts and her beloved sand seal Patricia to guide her through the desert. There was little chance they could become lost; even a vast, empty space could become known. And Riju _knew_ this desert. Any minute, any second now and Vah Naboris would emerge. Feeling the pervasive dust on her tongue, she called for Patricia to move _faster_.

"My Lady, please!" The broad form of Buliara was ploughing through the sand towards her, pulled by her spotted sand seal. The bodyguard's hands were wrapped tight around her sand seal's tether, the long rope wobbling under the speed, and she winced as she spoke. "It is too dangerous!"

"No!" Riju shouted over her shoulder. "We need to find Naboris!"

"It's no use!" Buliara was struggling to keep her balance. She motioned for Riju to pull back, and almost fell.

Defiant, Riju pushed Patricia harder, giving her sand seal's tether a hard yank, and she almost lost her footing as they flew forward over a sloping dune. Buliara may have been a strong surfer, but Riju was lighter and faster, and Patricia was bred for speed. Try as she might, and shout all she wanted, the guard could not keep up.

Riju tore blindly forward, and Buliara was swallowed up by the storm. "Sorry," she whispered. "I have no choice"

A few weeks past, the Zora had arrived at the newly constructed Geldarm Bridge, built to allow easier passage from Central Hyrule into the Gerudo Desert. Riju remembered when she had issued the decree and the pride she had felt at seeing the bridge completed. It could have allowed safer travel, easier trade, better alliances with the rest of Hyrule…

It could have been so many things, but then the Zora had laid siege, and refused to leave until Riju admitted to killing their King. _It was one of mine, but it was not me!_ She had told them, cursing the name _Cinelgen_ , and the endless trouble male Gerudo had seemed to bring her people.

Relentless, the storm raged around them, but neither Riju nor Patricia slowed down. She yanked the tether again, feeling the bite of the rough rope against her fingertips. The way the rope moved whip-like between her fingers, breaking blisters into callouses. Riju would have smiled; this was home. Her home. And no matter how many times she was fearful, or doubted herself, she needed only look out to the infinite horizon, and see the shimmer of the sun-baked air, and she knew that she loved this place with a ferocity that meant she would do anything to protect it.

But as much as she wanted to, Riju could not fight, and could not flee. The Zora outnumbered her guard three to one, and had almost cut Gerudo off completely from the rest of Hyrule; the only other way out of the desert was an arduous hike through the Gerudo Highlands. Riju had been told simply to sit and wait. _They will tire, and leave_ , her advisors had said. _We have all we need here. Our people can survive without trade._

With each passing day, the Zora pressed further across the Geldarm, threatening violence at every step. And then the news arrived of the massacre at the Gatepost Town Ruins; half a dozen Gerudo killed, an entire party of Zora, and the handful of Hylians who had tried to stand between them.

She would do anything to remedy the tragedy. Anything to prevent it happening again. Anything; even attempting to tame an ancient colossus.

Finally, faintly, rising out of the sands she spied four great columns, segmented and shaded in an ethereal amethyst hue. They were bent forward, the segments twisted across each other, and as Riju and Patricia approached, the rest of the Divine Beast Vah Naboris materialised from the storm.

They rounded to the front of the Beast, coming to a halt beside where its legs met the ground, and to where the Naboris' enormous form shielded her from the winds.

"Vah Naboris!" Riju shouted up at the Beast. "My name is Chief Riju of the Gerudo. I come seeking your aid!"

The Beast's wide head tilted downwards, its six shining, expressionless blue eyes centring on Riju. For a long, unsettling moment it stared, unmoving, and Riju wondered if it was beseeching her to speak.

"An army has come to attack my home," she tried to explain. "And the Champion, and the Princess - the ones who helped you - I cannot find them!"

The Beast shifted, and with a resonant groan, it tilted its head forwards once again, the bony segments of its long neck creaking as they slid across one another. It gazed blankly forward, and the lights from its ancient markings pulsed with a dim radiance.

"Naboris!" Riju cried. " _Please!_ " But still nothing. The Beast ignored her.

Desperate, Riju brought Patricia around to an archway carved into the Beast's side; the entrance where she had seen the Champion Link go to tame Naboris himself. But it was closed now, a wall of stone where the door had once been. Naboris remained still, not noticing or perhaps not even caring, as Riju attempted in vain to push the doorway open.

 _This is the only way,_ she thought as she pounded her fists against the ancient stone. _I thought you were meant to help us!_ The door was unyielding. _Why? Why is this happening to us?_

Buliara found her weeping by the stone door. She had fallen to her knees and buried her face in her hands. Her long braid had unravelled in the winds of the storm and now hung in a heap about her face. When she looked up, she expected to see her bodyguard's usual stern expression, but instead, she saw a gentle, rueful smile.

"There is no use, my Lady," Buliaria said as she wrapped an arm around Riju's shoulders. "The only ones who can pilot her are the Champion and the Princess, and we know that something must have happened to them." Her smile faded then.

"What else are we going to do?" Riju asked, beginning to wipe away her tears. "It is only a matter of time before the Zora storm that bridge."

"I do not know." Buliara frowned. "But we will need to protect our people without Naboris, and without the Champion and the Princess." She stood, and held a hand out to Riju, adding, "I believe together, we will find a way."

Riju allowed Buliara to lead her away from Vah Naboris, back to their sand seals, and back towards Gerudo Town. Once again, the Beast returned to the storm, and soon their home was cresting over the horizon - that tiny fortress of sandstone, and the people, _her_ people, who lay vulnerable within.

 _Not together_ , _but alone,_ she thought. _We will find a way alone._

* * *

Cinelgen tied the binds a little tighter around Link's wrists, securing them firmly to Inglis' saddle. "Needs must," he apologised. "As much as we trust you."

 _But you don't_ , Link thought, though he did not say it. If they actually trusted him, they would let him ride free, and not bound by the wrists to another man's horse. Trust was elusive, Link now firmly believed. Trust only existed in the moment.

The party rode out before dawn on a morning so cold that Link had not been able to feel his feet as they walked him to the Castle Stables. They were in the depths of Winter now, the sun creeping across the sky in a low arc, and the darkness closing in on each side of the waking hours. Dawn rose slowly. Night fell quickly. Hyrule was blanketed in a pervasive, lingering sense of twilight. Milagre had been left to manage the operations at the Castle, a task she scowled at. But she had bowed to Cinna all the same as they passed by her at the Castle gates, sending them off with a cheerful, _Don't screw up, guys!_

Cinelgen rode a narrow-shouldered horse with soft, singularly sand-coloured hair and a white mane. His saddle was plain; rough dark leather and no ornaments save a few brass buckles for attaching saddle bags. As always, he wore his sturdy, too-short trousers, and his worn leather jacket under a rich red velvet cloak. _He doesn't look like a King_ , Link often thought. _He doesn't even look Gerudo, or Hylian, or anything_. It seemed that his clothes betrayed his philosophy; a medley of ideas and approaches, all underlined by simplicity and practicality. He didn't dress like a king, because at present he was, in truth, just a wanderer. And so he dressed like one.

The Gerudo would lead, while Inglis and Link followed sharing a saddle. Aurelia rode beside them, and Cinelgen's guards Marlo and Teel steered a waggon containing the housing component for Rhoamet's diamond. It had been draped under a large cotton tarp, hidden from view. If asked, they would call it mining equipment, though Link knew they would not be asked. The roads were empty, the travellers having stolen back to their homes or the warm confines of the Stables, as talk of the civil war and the conflict at the Geldarm Bridge had begun to spread across the Kingdom, conveyed to Link in wisps of overheard conversations and whispers in the hallways. _I wonder if you've heard. I wonder if you're there, dealing with it all alone?_

He felt a strange sense of loss as the silhouette of the Castle receded behind them. It was a prison, but it had once been a home. Now the vastness of Hyrule was before them, and he gazed across it with a wonder tainted by grief. So much beauty in the cloak of white snow that covered the land, but so much conflict hidden underneath. He grasped at rediscovered sensations; the wind in his face, the rhythm of the horse's canter beneath him, the yelps of a fox as it tore across their path. Bound to the saddle, there was little to do but _feel._ If he closed his eyes, he was free.

The party mostly travelled in silence. Aurelia chatted idly, remarking on the weather, and the winter flowers, the way the season changed Hyrule underneath their feet as well as above. She spoke of flowers that stored starch in warmer months to survive when the sun disappeared, and of the way winter shrooms could be used to brew elixirs that could nullify even the heat of the desert.

"You sound like an apothecary," Link commented, and Aurelia laughed sweetly.

"Well, my sisters and I are all cooks." She gave him a sly smile, which Link could not help but return. "Though Hana cooks _food_. Cassiah and I… our brews were a little different."

"And useful too," Cinelgen added. "Many a time my people have been saved by her healing elixirs."

"Sounds like witchcraft to me," Inglis grumbled.

"Afraid she'll put a hex on you?" Cinna teased, and Link could practically feel Inglis rolling his eyes. "It's not magic to know how to cook."

After a few days of travel through the frozen landscape, the Akkalan had begun to fall ill. Inglis sniffled in Link's ear, and coughed half the day. Eventually, he began to slump, his eyes milky and his skin paled.

"Apothecary," Link called to Aurelia once the party had stopped to make camp in the Crenal Hills. They had left him propped up against a tree while they built their lean-tos and made a fire. "Have you got any Hyrule Herb?"

Aurelia's soft face brightened. "Are you learned in the healing arts as well?"

"No," Link said, thinking of Mipha's power, and Zelda's penchant for elixirs, and the Hyrule Herb tea she and him had shared when they had fallen ill in Akkala. "I've just had friends who were. I'm more of a cook myself."

"Ah, you'll have to cook for us, Champion," Cinelgen suggested. He and Marlo were knelt over the fire, coaxing it to life.

"That'll be difficult with bound hands," Link shot back, and the camp rumbled with laughter. They would only untie his binds in the evening, during supper, and would watch with casually cautious expressions to see if he tried to escape. They saw nothing suspicious as of yet.

Cinelgen halted his work, and pulled his dagger from his belt, moving to kneel by Link's side.

In three clean hacks, he cut the binds. "Cook for us then, I'm sure you can forage something nearby," Cinelgen said, eyes wild, the words more an order than an invitation. And then, a little threatening - "But don't get too ambitious. It's rough weather these days."

Link massaged the skin where the ropes had cut in, finding it chaffed and bloodied. "Come with me," Link said, the words a challenge. "Like you said, rough weather."

Cinna grinned, and gave a low nod. For the rest of the daylight hours, he and Link scoured the rocky hills for vegetables and game, Cinna's painted Duplex Bow quickly taking down a pair of slender-necked herons. That night Link made a simmering stew of bird meat and mushrooms, seasoning the broth with some rock salt and chestnuts that he had found on the hills, and the whole party had their fill. Even Inglis, still grumpy and battling his cold, managed to smile a few times at Cinna's ridiculous stories or Aurelia's snide remarks.

"Cheer up, Inglis," Cinna goaded. He turned to Link. "I saved this boy's life, and yet he's so dour all the time!"

Link had to bite down his shock, hiding it under a passively amused smile.

"Yeah, yeah," Inglis huffed. "Maybe I've just heard all your stories."

 _What do they owe each other_? Link asked a final time. And the answer: everything.

A hand on his shoulder pulled him from his musings, and he jolted at the touch.

"Hey! It's only me, Hero!" Aurelia laughed. "This is good!" She nodded to an empty bowl of stew on her lap, and thumbed the fabric of his tunic. "If you were trying to impress me, you certainly have."

"Oh, I-" Link's mouth was lead. He could not speak and awkwardly sprang to his feet to refill his empty bowl. Behind him, Aurelia just laughed.

The party talked until the fire burnt low, and the skies sparkled with starlight. Allowed to lie with his hands unbound for the first night since their departure, Link slept deeply. In his dreams he saw the Castle, radiant and clean, a figure in gold at its peak. He climbed the spire to reach her, and when he did, she smiled. _It's only me_ , she said, and when she reached out her hand to touch his face, Link awoke.

He was aching from the cold, blinded by the crispness of the dream, and slowly, making him wonder if he had woken at all, he became aware of the soft sensation of warm fingers against his cheek. She faded into focus. A girl rendered in white and gold.

Her blonde hair framed her round face, worn long and loose such that it swayed as she moved. She grinned, crows feet at the corners of her eyes, the soft light from the embers of the fire painting her in an alluring hue. _You've come back to me_ , he almost said, but when he saw that her eyes were blue as the distant ocean, he knew something was wrong.

"This isn't a dream," Link murmured.

"It can be," Aurelia answered. She leant her face in close, her lips brushing his, and Link shot backwards, scrambling away from her. Aurelia followed on all fours. She was wrapped in a velvet cloak that hung loosely around her shoulders.

"Something the matter?" she asked innocently. "Cinna told me you liked blondes."

"I _don't_ -" he managed as he scraped against the frozen ground, fingers stinging as he plunged them into the snow.

"Oh, you do," Aurelia chuckled. She caught him with a hand to his thigh, and he nearly yelped. From fright of excitement, he wasn't sure. Frantic, his head spinning, Link reached up to push her away.

"No," he wheezed. "I can't-"

But she just giggled again, and let the cloak fall. It had been all she was wearing. Link tried, and failed, not to look. "Please just go," he breathed.

"Aw," she whined. "Why?"

"I shouldn't - you're not -"

Aurelia slumped back onto the balls of her feet with a sigh. "I see," she frowned, the words falling limp and sullen from her lips. "You've nobler taste."

For a moment longer, she hovered above him, and Link wanted to reach out to her; to apologise or to make her stay or just to yield. Company of any kind, to fill the sudden longing she had stirred within him. Link felt his heart beating in his throat, fear and disgust and anticipation thrumming through him, centring on a new, absurd ache in his groin.

" _Go_ , Aury," Link said. "Get away from me."

And with a huff, she wrapped the cloak around herself and went, standing to walk back to her bedroll. Her long blond hair swayed about her hips, golden even in the dim light, and it was only as she faded into the night that he realised; _she reminds me of you._

* * *

"You're lucky you're climbing the mountain during the high winter!" the merchant at the Foothill Stables told them as Cinelgen handed over a pouch full of rupees to pay for the fireproof elixirs. "You won't need these 'til you get right into the village."

"How long does each vial last?" The Gerudo demanded, and the Hylian merchant shrunk away from him, intimidated by Cinelgen's towering figure.

"A - a day, at least," he stammered, and Cinna seemed unphased by the reception. He nodded in thanks, and signalled for the rest of the party to follow.

Link had been allowed to ride without binds now as well, though he still shared a saddle with Inglis. Though now it did not matter; they could not take their horses beyond the Maw of Death Mountain. They marched single file along the winding, rocky path, the volcanic rock crunching beneath their shoes. Cinelgen led as always, followed by Link, and then Inglis, Aurelia, and Marlo and Teel with the housing component now wheeled in a small waggon.

Link was glad to have Inglis in between himself and the blonde-haired Yiga woman. Her _advances_ several nights before had left him nauseous; from both repulsion and confusion. But fading away from her - and indeed the rest of the party - was easy. A well-worn disguise; the stoic, unfeeling Knight. He had grown so quiet that even Inglis noticed, and Link waved away the concern by saying that their travels had made him tired and that he found it easier to walk in silence.

It took the rest of the day to reach Goron City itself, and the higher they climbed, the more unbearable the heat became. They sweated and panted and drained their waterskins, but Cinna refused to let anyone drink a vial until absolutely necessary. Just as the merchant had described, Link only began to feel the tell-tale prickling sensation against his skin once the city came into view. Any further and the prickling would become burning, as his clothes caught fire, and the sweat on his skin began to boil. Cinelgen must have been feeling it too, for he distributed the vials with haste.

The tepid liquid was ash grey in colour and as viscous as honey, and tasted of charcoal. Inglis nearly spat his out, and Teel choked on hers, grey spittle flecked on her chin. But they all downed the elixirs, and pressed forward into Goron City. _This is where you would have sent me_ , Link could not help but think. _I'm here now._

Night had fallen, but the city was not subdued. It was illuminated by the streams of lava that flowed leisurely underneath the walkways, bubbling and gurgling, providing heat to the city even in winter. Children rolled along the rocky platforms and walkways, one of them bumping into Inglis and nearly bowling him over. From the barbeque station to their right, the smell of burning meat wafted through the air, and above them, a group of bards belted out a rambunctious tune on a handful of brass instruments and a set of impossibly large wooden drums. The Gorons were spread out through the city, some sitting outside their houses, some chatting, some snacking on rocks and molten, and many waved at the party as they passed by. Only the elderly ones squinted at them, but even then they didn't frown. Cinelgen motioned for Link to lead, and he walked them towards Bludo's house at the city centre. Marlo and Teel waited outside with the component as the rest of the party stepped into Bludo's house.

"Ah - well, look at this!" Bludo cried as they entered. "Link! How are you?"

Link stood with his hands on his hips, and he tried his best to emulate the version of himself that Bludo would remember; the freer, simpler Link, who only wanted to help. "Fine," he said. "I need a favour."

"Anything, anything," Bludo said, standing from his rocky chair at the end of the room. "Who're your friends?"

"Travellers, nothing more," Cinelgen said before Link could answer.

"Right… of course," Bludo said slowly, eyebrows raised.

"Friends from the road," Link affirmed, and Bludo's slightly sceptical expression softened into a warm grin.

He placed a hefty hand on Link's back, and led them outside. "What is it then, Link? How can we aid you?"

Link nodded to Marlo, who unveiled the component with a quick tug to the tarp that covered it. It felt as though the entire city turned to look; the Gorons gaped at the mechanical contraption with round eyes and open mouths. Even Bludo could not help but gape at what they had presented him.

"I need a diamond specifically cut for his. Tapered too, towards the front," Link explained. For a long moment, Bludo did not seem to hear, staring in awe at the housing component. But then he blinked, and placed his hands at his back.

"Aye, alright. You have rupees?"

Link nodded, casting a quick glance to Cinelgen. "Of course," the Gerudo added.

Bludo smiled again, his worries evidently gone. "Done deal then!" He cupped his hands to his mouth, and shouted, " _YUNOBO!_ "

Across the plaza, Link saw a wide-eyed Goron pop his head out from one of the houses, and he recognised the face as belonging to the youth who had aided him in reaching Vah Rudania. Yunobo hurriedly sprung from the house, and rolled across the plaza to meet them.

"Link!" he gasped after he unraveled himself, arms open. Link could not dodge in time, and felt the air escape his lungs as Yunobo pulled him into a crushing hug. "How are you, buddy?"

"I'm fine," Link answered breathlessly. Behind him he could hear Inglis and Aurelia sniggering.

"Link here needs a diamond cut," Bludo pointed to the housing component. "For… _that_."

"Oh, you're not here to see Rudania?"

"N-no," Link answered quickly.

"I thought you'd have seen. Rudania shut itself down a while ago now." The Goron cocked his round head to the side. "That isn't why you're here?"

Link could feel Cinna's scrutinising gaze. "I… I can't help you with that, Yunobo."

"But don't you have that flat rock that you wore on your belt? I don't see it."

"I really can't help, Yunobo." he reiterated, perhaps a little too harsh. "Maybe some other time."

"Oh. Oh, okay. Only if you're sure." Yunobo shrugged. He waved at the party to follow, and led them to the ore refinery.

* * *

White feathers against the white snow. The warrior all but disappeared.

Teba had regained his son, but lost his family. And he mourned; the apprentice who had fooled him, the life that had evaded him, and the woman who had betrayed him.

When they were not walking, rounding the mountains back towards Lake Totori, he slept. The fight with Yahn had re-opened his wounds - mental, physical, and all the rest - and had damaged his armour. As dangerous as Hebra remained to them, he could not carry Zelda back to Totori, and he seemed to trust her to protect Tulin while he rested. When she expressed concern about not being capable, he just gave her the same, repeated line - _nothing teaches aim like the fear of missing_ \- and once she had been so mad that she had almost slapped him.

However, aside from keeping an eye out for wolves or a stray lizalfos, there was little Zelda needed to do to watch over Tulin. The child was as dutiful as ever; he foraged for firewood, found them food, and often sat with Zelda during her evening watches. And he doted on his father. Tulin brought Teba water, checked his bandages, and even redressed the wound on his father's shoulder.

"You're good at that," Zelda told the fledgeling once he was done. Teba had already fallen back asleep, and was snoozing between them, his spiny feathers rumbling as he snored.

Tulin nodded, grinning up at her with a brightness dancing in his eyes that she hadn't before seen. "Mother taught me how to sew. Bandages are just fabric, plus they're stretchy."

"Maybe you could be a tailor," Zelda suggested, and the brightness dimmed.

"I don't know," he shrugged, running a hand over his single braided feather. "Father is a Warrior. So I should be one too."

Zelda frowned. "Is that what you want, Tulin?"

The fledgeling didn't answer. Tulin interlaced his wingtips, his eyes suddenly hard and pensive - an echo of his father - and he avoided the question with his own. "Is he going to be okay? Father isn't normally this…"

"Glum?" Zelda chuckled. Tulin nodded, looking down at his father. "No, he isn't," she agreed. There was no need to conceal the truth.

"Do you think… he'll get better?"

Zelda followed Tulin's line of sight, and appraised Teba with a small smile. She ran a hand through the spiny feathers on his crown, and Teba stirred slightly, mumbling, _no, don't, don't leave_ , and when he began to snore again she said, "I think your Father is an old warrior in a world that changed while he wasn't looking." _Just like you, Hero_. "His friends changed, his purpose changed. He wasn't ready for it, and now he's hurting."

Tulin had not taken his eyes off of his father. "How can we help him?"

"I don't know," Zelda admitted. _At least, I think I don't._

"Maybe if I had been stronger…" Tulin sighed, leaning forward, his chin resting against his wingtips.

Zelda stood, and carefully stepped around Teba to sit by Tulin's side. She held out her right hand, and removed her glove to show him the mark of the Royal Crest. "I'm sorry I hid this from you," she said. "But do you know what it is?"

Tulin studied the radiant mark. She held it closer and let him run a wingtip against her skin. "Father called it a mage's mark."

"Well, he was mostly right," Zelda conceded, and it occurred to her that few living would recognise the Royal symbol. "But what it _is_ , is a power. I was told my whole life that I was born to wield it, and yet it never came to me. Not matter how hard I tried, or how much I told myself that it was my destiny. But you know when it did come forth?"

"When?"

"When I _wanted_ it, Tulin. When I wanted it more than anything I'd ever wanted before." _When I was ready to die for it_ , though she did not say that to the child.

The little Rito's face was twisted. "But didn't you want it before?"

"Not truly. But my Father insisted it was my duty to find this power, and he made me keep trying. I was so angry at him. He seemed not to care what _I_ wanted." She closed her hand into a fist, and the mark burned brighter. "But now I think he was just afraid of what would happen if I failed. It made him cruel, and confused."

Tulin shrugged. "Father never seems confused."

"That's because adults are masters of pretending, Tulin. They're better at it than children!"

Tulin smiled. "No, that can't be," he giggled.

Zelda nodded firmly. "It's true! Their imaginations are so strong that they believe their own made-up stories." Tulin laughed again, so loud that Teba began to stir once more. His eyes lolled open, and he gave them both a grumpy look. Ignoring him, Zelda wrapped a hand around Tulin's wing.

"I want you to promise me something, brave one," she said.

"What's that?" Tulin asked.

"Do what brings you joy," Zelda looked to Teba, and their eyes met. "I am certain now that if you do, your father will be happy too."

Teba looked away, caught, and with a sigh he rolled over to turn away from them. Tulin did not notice. He was deep in thought, his wings crossed at his chest, and after a few moments, he leapt to his feet.

"I have an idea then!" he beamed. "Father's armour is damaged. One of the straps came loose in the fight. I've got needles, and thread. Mother's. I can fix it."

Zelda could not stop him once he was set on the task. The little Rito darted over to their packs, pulling from his a small case, and hauling Teba's damaged leather armour back to where Zelda sat. He worked so long that she had to take the needle from his wingtips and order him to bed. And in the morning, he rose well before either Zelda or Teba to complete his work, proudly presenting the fixed strap to his father as they were preparing to leave their camp.

"Huh," the warrior smiled. "That's actually quite impressive. Can't even see the stitching."

Tulin was ecstatic, jumping from foot to foot with excitement. "Mother taught me."

Teba's face fell, but he strapped on the armour without complaint, and knelt down to ruffle the fledgeling's feathers. "I owe you one, Tulin," he said softly. Zelda watched as Tulin gazed up at his father, wonder and sadness on his youthful features. The little Rito then held out a wing.

"Let's go," Tulin said. Teba hesitated, casting a glance backwards to Zelda, but then he smiled, and took Tulin's wing in his own. Together, they walked out into the snow.

* * *

Tulin's talons clicked on the wooden planks as he sprinted towards the Flight Range Ravine, giggling through panting breaths. "I missed this!" he cried, and leapt, the updrafts carrying him high into the air. Zelda had chased after him, but could not follow, crying out for him to be careful. Behind them, Teba stalked over to the ever-burning fire, puttering around the hut to search for a spare log of firewood to stoke the flames.

"Leave him be, Zelda," he called out to her from the fire. "He'll be fine."

Casting one last glance at the white-winged fledgeling, Zelda turned from the ravine and went to join Teba in the hut. She stopped by his trunk, and used the key he had given her to unlock the latch, breathing a sigh of relief when she found the crossbow and the Master Sword still safely tucked within.

There was no use hiding it anymore. If someone found her, they would have to take it from her. She reached down to grab the Master Sword, marvelling once again at how light it felt. She tried to picture herself wielding it, wearing it on her back, carrying its burden; but she could not. _And so how am I meant to continue our work without…_

"Why did he give it to you?" Teba asked from behind her. In the distance, Tulin's peals of laughter echoed across the range.

"For safe keeping, perhaps?" Zelda offered, taking hold of the hilt and gingerly drawing the Sword from its scabbard. Her arm tensed; the Sword was resisting again. _Put me down_ , it seemed to be saying. _Interloper. Unhand me_.

"That's not all it is, is it?" Teba sensed her thoughts, and Zelda nodded. She went to join him by the fire, keeping the Sword in hand.

"We used this, along with my powers, to cleanse Divine Beast Vah Ruta," she began to explain. "The Beasts are still infected with Malice. And Vah Medoh… he is among the worst."

"Then that is why - Link wanted you to continue the work."

"But - it isn't my Sword!" Zelda protested. "I'm not its Master - I can't wield it as he did."

"You certainly look the part," Teba chuckled. There was some truth to that - Zelda still wore Link's Champion tunic, the blue and white fabric peeking out from under her snowquill coat. She wore it because it was a strong piece of armour, she told herself. Woven with the properties of dragon scales, but inside she knew. It was a piece of him. That was all it was.

Lowering the Master Sword across her lap, Zelda traced the way glow of the flames danced across the blue blade. She offered it out to Teba, and cautiously, he held it by the hilt, examining its make as Zelda spoke.

"In any case, cleansing Medoh is not my first priority. I seek to pilot him," She looked at the Rito warrior expectantly. He quirked a brow, silently asking the question, _You?_

Zelda shook her head, and Teba froze, his expression caged. Gingerly, almost in disbelief, he tapped his chest. _Me?_

"Oh, honestly, who _else,_ Teba?" Zelda rolled her eyes at his frown. "We need to secure Medoh away from Cinelgen's people. If we can launch him, we can seal him, place him out of reach of Hylian and Rito alike. And then we can cleanse him when Link has been returned to us."

The warrior did not move, only glared, and slowly, he began to shake his head. In the silence, Zelda heard Tulin's laughter across the way. "I can't," Teba said. He handed her back the Sword.

"Why not?"

The warrior bowed his head. "I can't go back there. Not yet."

"... Saki?" Zelda scowled at the name.

Teba nodded and looked up to where his son played, his eyes watery, drooping. With a long sigh, Zelda stood. She knew grief, but not this kind. Her grief had been rolling, laden in the layers of her skin. Inherent. Anticipated, almost. Ten years of failure had prepared her for the fatal blow that Calamity Ganon laid her kingdom, and a hundred years later she had survived its effects. Grief could no longer surprise her.

But Teba's grief had hit a blind spot, winded him, driving a hard knife into the one part of him that he had thought incorruptible; his _family_. There was nothing she could say. Nothing that wasn't a lie. She left the Master Sword in its safe place within the storage chest, and returned to Teba's side. Tulin was still happily soaring through the ravine, a blur of white against white as the snow began to fall.

Teba spoke with a small voice. "Did you… did you really kill Yinli?"

Zelda shook her head. "I don't even recognise the name… who was he? What did he look like?" It was a lie, she knew.

"An old white-feather falcon, with brown as well. Stern face. Stubborn, too. He carried one of the best bows in the village, a tri-shot Falcon."

Her eyes went wide as he spoke. The face was hazy, but the memory was not. Gasping, blood pumping, her feet scampering across the ageing stone floor, desperately climbing the stairs as triplets of arrows raining down around her. And above, a white-feathered Rito, plumage flecked with greys and browns, a spectacular bow in hand.

The Rito bandit that she and Link had fought in Hyrule Castle Library. She remembered him. And she remembered how Link had shot him through the neck.

Zelda swallowed hard. "H-he was Yahn's father?"

"He was more than that," Teba answered. "He was Elder Kaneli's advisor, and has been missing for quite a while now."

" _Kaneli's advisor_?" She felt the blood drain from her face, and sat in a stunned silence, blinking dumbly at the fire in front of them. _How? How could this happen?_

Teba's face was drawn, his expression seeking. "What is it?"

"I-I didn't kill him, Teba." She whispered, trembling. "But _Link_ did. In Hyrule Castle. Yinli was among the bandits. He wore the scarf."

" _What_? But-but he works for Kaneli!"

"He _worked_ for Cinelgen," Zelda corrected. "And if Elder Kaneli's chief advisor worked for Cinelgen then-"

"Kaneli does too," Teba breathed. They stared into the fire together, rendered mute, a terrible understanding having passed between them. Cinelgen hadn't infiltrated the Rito. He had allied them. Indeed it seemed nothing could surprise her now.

"It was Yahn," Teba growled, his face darkening. "It started with him. He must have convinced his father, and then Kaneli." Teba shook his head, an incredulous smile creeping across his face. "That little bastard. It isn't enough that he turns my wife against me. He's taken my home from me too."

Zelda looked past the fire to the upright body of Vah Medoh, perched on the spire of Rito Village. She remembered a piece of her meagre political education; alliances had mutual benefit. _How do the Rito benefit? What did they trade Medoh for?_ She was at once terrified and determined, knowing the answer. _It doesn't matter now._

"We can wait no longer, Teba," she said, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "You will help me secure Medoh. Yahn will never control the Beast, but his recklessness could damage it beyond repair."

Teba squinted at her, surprised by her sudden sternness. "Yes ma'am," he teased, muttering under his breath, "Anything to keep that little bastard away from it."

"Good!" Zelda said with a resolute nod, feeling that strange wildness within her once again; the excitement, the _thrill_. Link's armour was doing more than making her look like him, it seemed. "We'll go as soon as the snow clears."

Teba laughed again, amused by her enthusiasm. It wasn't until he pried her hand from his shoulder that she realised she had been squeezing it tight. "I just don't understand - why me?" he asked. "There are plenty of stronger flyers in the village."

Zelda looked at Teba's injured wings; his damaged armour; his battle-hardened face. The scars of the only Rito who cared enough to stand up to Cinelgen's chaos - even at the risk of his own life.

"Perhaps there are, younger ones too," she said coyly, ignoring Teba's unamused scowl. "But none of them are Champions."

* * *

The diamond was to be sized and cut to… approximately what Link thought they needed. He could not tell them the truth; that he had no _real_ idea of what would work. But he instructed the Goron miners at the refinery of his specifications, and was relieved when they began to nod.

"Aye, we can do that," one of the miners said. "Should take a couple days. Hope you packed enough elixirs."

"Can't we just head back down the mountain?" Teel protested, shirking the idea of consuming more of the fireproof elixir. Cinelgen shook his head.

"How often do we get to see such _unique_ parts of our kingdom?" he smiled, though he did not improve Teel's mood. The Goron miner chuckled.

"Unique," he repeated. "You are funny. Call it what it is, Hylian, it's _hell_."

Cinelgen narrowed his eyes, squaring up to the bulky Goron miner. They were the same height, the Goron as robust as Cinna was lean. "I'm not _Hylian_ ," he snarled.

The Goron was unaffected, waving Cinelgen away. "Ah well, I can't tell anyhow."

 _A few days here,_ Link thought. _Is Cinna worried that travelling down the mountain will allow me to escape?_ It only occurred to him then that Cinelgen kept exclusive watch over their stash of elixirs. No better way to keep a man in line than to hold his life in a vial.

Cinelgen had calmed down, and was leaning against the wall of the workshop, watching with folded arms as the Gorons set to work on the diamond. The rest of the group were waiting outside; the party never split. Cinelgen called it bad luck.

"Don't look so concerned," Cinna chided him. "I'll remind you this was your idea."

 _I'm not concerned for you_. Link just smiled. "I know this isn't the nicest place."

"We can hear you, lad," one of the Goron's grumbled.

Cinna sighed, running a hand through his messy red hair. "That's time enough for us to see Rudania then," he suggested.

"Maybe, I might be needed here." Link had no intention of letting Cinna get close to a Divine Beast. _Not after what happened with Ruta._ He chewed his lip, trying to suppress his frown. The heat was making the mask harder to wear.

"No," Cinelgen said. "I've made up my mind. If we're stuck here, I want to do something productive."

* * *

One last diagnostic. One last check. Malice everywhere; even on the control terminal. Medoh would be a stubborn Beast to fly. Beside her, Teba was adjusting the draw of his bow, shivering.

"Are you afraid, Teba?"

She expected the warrior to shake his head, but Teba nodded. "Always," he frowned. "Every moment."

Three days had passed since they had arrived at the Flight Range; Teba had since sent Tulin home on his own, while he and Zelda remained to wait for their wounds to heal. She had watched him embrace the fledgeling one last time, whispering something in his ear, before giving him a gentle nudge back towards the village. And Tulin seemed resolute, launching himself into the air with ease.

For three days they planned, and prepared. They would fly together to Vah Medoh, and Zelda would use the Sheikah Slate to induct Teba as Pilot. He would launch the Beast and take it as high as he could, before sealing the entrances. Finally, he and Zelda would return to Rito Village to confront Elder Kaneli. Simple enough.

But when she thought of each step in the sequence, the plan seemed less and less straightforward. What if Teba was not accepted? What if they could not seal Vah Medoh? And stood at the precipice of the Flight Range ravine, gazing towards the gargantuan body of the Divine Beast, Zelda understood then that it was just herself and Teba in the way of Cinelgen's plans. A Princess in hiding, and a Warrior in mourning. Not the partnership she would have chosen.

But she had no other choice and no time to doubt. The sun had begun to rise, and daylight would soon rush to meet them. They needed all the waking hours they could get. _And I doubt Teba would like to fly blind._

"I'm ready when you are," Zelda said, and Teba nodded, shouldering his bow and kneeling to allow her to climb onto his back. Zelda carried her own Sparrow bow, with its limbs painted in white and gold, though she no longer bothered with arrows. Three swift beats of his wings took Teba to air, and together, they ascended towards the rock spire of Rito Village.

The winding walkways and suspended huts soon passed beneath them, and peering down over Teba's shoulder, Zelda noticed a congregation forming at the top level of the village. Rito of all colours, their voices raucous, Elder Kaneli standing before them. _What's happening?_ She wanted to ask Teba, before realising that he would know no better than her. The question would have to be answered later.

Medoh was perched somewhat precariously on the rock spire, its broad wings splayed outwards, and its body raised skyward - practically vertical. Not a particularly convenient configuration. _Typical Revali,_ Zelda thought dryly. The Divine Beast's main control unit was situated on its back, among a plethora of ancient columns that stuck out of its body like spines. Normally the induction was simple, but with Medoh's upright position, they would have to complete the process _on_ the rotated control unit itself, balanced several hundred feet above Lake Totori. Zelda swallowed her fear. _You've survived falls,_ she reminded herself, though it did not calm her nerves.

Teba flew them up and over Medoh's wings, descending onto the angled control unit. He landed deftly on the unit's bud-shaped housing and knelt to allow Zelda to dismount. Carefully, the high winds howling in her ears, she crawled along the control unit towards the terminal itself, which rotated on its side as with everything else. Fingers shaking, breath taut, she tapped the Sheikah Slate against the terminal.

At once, Medoh began to shake with such ferocity that Zelda nearly lost her balance on the smooth stone of the control unit. But eventually, the Beast settled, unleashing a shrill squawk that Zelda was sure could be heard across all of Hyrule.

Simple as taking a photo; Zelda held the Sheikah Slate towards Teba, instructed him to keep still, and waited patiently for Medoh to react. The Beast screeched again, longer this time, and Zelda read aloud the words with excitement. "Accepted! Teba of Rito Village, I officially induct you as pilot of Divine Beast Vah Medoh."

Teba just shrugged. "Great. Where's the flight deck?"

She pointed to the terminal. "This _is_ the flight deck."

"That? What do I _do_?"

"Why don't you come find out?" Zelda shuffled back to let him pass, and Teba slowly crawled towards the terminal. "Piloting the Beasts is more instinct than anything else."

With trepidation, he leant down to place a wing against the terminal - and Teba _gasped_. His whole seized backwards, eyelids fluttering, muttering _the hell was that,_ and his wing snapped from the terminal. The Beast shrieked again.

"Go on," Zelda smiled, watching with anticipation as Teba placed his wing against the terminal once more. She had tried, and failed, not to steal a glance at the lake below.

"Vah Medoh!" Teba cried suddenly. He locked eyes with Zelda. "He spoke! They can _talk_? But… but they're just-"

"Automatons?"

"Did you know about this?" Teba was breathless. "I could see it all… as if its eyes were mine." And then he began to laugh, a _real_ laugh, full of joy and sheer delight. "Why didn't you bring me here earlier!? This is fantastic!"

Zelda chuckled nervously, pressing herself closer against the still rotated control unit, still the only thing between her and several hundred feet of air. "Please just launch him," she said.

"Alright, alright," Teba placed his hand on the control unit again. "Let's get out of here, Medoh."

The Divine Beast shook once more as its legion of ancient propellers creaked to life, the rhythmic whirring pulsing through the entire structure. It lurched forward, giving one final screech. The propellers roared, the Beast rumbled violently, and Zelda wrapped herself even tighter around the main control unit.

Teba had closed his eyes, and his body tensed. The roaring from the propellers quietened into a steady hum. The warrior was muttering something to himself, though Zelda could not hear, and finally, with a jolt, Vah Medoh was launched upwards. Slowly, steadily, still shuddering against the force of its own propellers, the Beast began to rise.

Both Teba and Zelda tumbled down from the control unit as Medoh began to right himself, and they stood to find that, at last, the Beast's wings were flat with the horizon. Teba kept a wing to the terminal while Zelda surveyed the area. Medoh's outer platform was as wide as its wings, and the stone beneath her feet was mossy from age. She counted over two dozen of the ancient columns that jutted out from the stone, all half ruined, or collapsing. And her diagnostic had been correct; Malice clung to the outside of Medoh, as well as within, and a particularly gruesome piece gurgled on the main control unit.

"Can you tell me how high you can go, Medoh?" Teba asked, and he nodded at a response that Zelda could not hear. "As high as you like," he grinned, relaying the message.

She patted him on the arm. "You're a natural, Teba."

Teba keened, clicking his beak, unaccustomed now to praise, "Well, I wouldn't-"

 _Oh, so the finest warrior in Rito Village has some modesty?_ She almost said, but Teba's words and her thoughts were cut off by a sudden shout behind them. They spun around to see four figures spilling out from Vah Medoh's interior - all Rito, all familiar, all scrambling across the mossy stone towards them. Teba's snapped his wing away from the terminal, and moved to stand in front of Zelda, his face drawn, and his muscles held taut. He held a wing at his back, ready to draw his bow as the Rito approached.

"Well, well," Yahn sneered. "What have we here?" His wing was still in a bandage, though some had fallen away, revealing the veiny, purple-red corruption. _Malice_.

Rylen and Orli followed close behind, and on their tail was a soft-pink feathered Rito, her hair hanging in loops about her face, the feathers dangling as she moved. When she saw Teba and Zelda, she skidded to a half, her talons scraping against the stone.

"Teba!?" she cried. "What are you doing here?! Where have you been!?"

"I'm asking you the same thing, Saki" Teba returned. Yahn only laughed, "Ah, at last they meet," he said.

The four Rito stood before them; Saki stunned into silence, Yahn chuckling, and Rylen and Orli passive, but ready, both eyeing Zelda knowingly.

"Well?" Zelda addressed Yahn, stepping from Teba's shadow. Appraising the Rito she noted that they were unarmed, though Yahn kept a dagger at his belt. _They did not come to Medoh to fight_.

Yahn put his wings to his waist "If you must know, we were camped inside this Beast, when you so kindly did what we've been attempting for months."

Teba had no time for his former apprentice, his furious glare saved only for Saki. " _Why_?" he seethed at her.

The Rito woman met Teba's insolence with her own. "I had to do _something_!" she snapped. "You spend all your days at that Flight Range! You disappeared for three weeks with our son!"

"Had to do something?!" Teba pointed an accusing wingtip towards Yahn. "Helping this idiot? Going behind my back?"

"How would I have told you?" Saki countered. "Would you have _cared_?"

"That isn't an excuse!"

In the soles of her feet, Zelda felt the familiar rumble of Medoh's propellers change, and weaken. The platform began to shift.

"Kaneli told me he had a plan," Saki began to explain. "... and Yinli told me not to involve you! He… he said that you wouldn't agree, but that he was sure his son could _help_ us!

"His son works for a madman! Of course I wouldn't agree!"

"I didn't know that at the time, Teba!"

" _But you know now!_ "

Rylen and Orli were watching the exchange with blank, bewildered faces, while Yahn tried unsuccessfully to break up the argument. "If I may, my interest is Medoh-"

"You really don't know," Zelda cut him off, addressing the two silent Rito. "Did Yahn never tell you who you work for?"

Rylen folded his arms at his chest. "We work for Kaneli," he said, and Orli nodded, and turned to Saki, "Don't we?"

Yahn scowled, his hand on the hilt of his dagger. A silent threat, but a pointless one. _Come dance, then_ , she thought as she sized up him up. _I know a song we can sing_. She mirrored Teba, a hand held at the ready to draw her bow.

Saki had not answered. The trio of expectant faces left her stammering, backing away slowly as no words came from her open beak.

"Tell them," Zelda urged.

Yahn seized her by the shoulder. "You will do no such thing."

"Do not threaten my _wife_!" Teba snapped, storming forward. Zelda jolted after him, pulling him back. The platform began to shift again, faster this time, and she felt her body lift from the stone. The clouds had begun to recede above them, and the thought was little more than a pulse in the back of her awareness; _we're falling._

"I don't understand," Orli frowned. She gave Rylen a nudge. "Why is there an issue?"

"I-" Saki began.

"Tell them," Teba said. "You've been to the Castle. Yahn was injured so _you_ went! What did you see?"

Saki wrenched herself from Yahn's grip, looking down her nose at the smaller Rito. "I wanted to believe what you were doing was right but… the food shortage here… all because-"

"Enough _!"_ Yahn snapped.

"What does Yahn have to do with the food shortage?" Rylen pressed.

Teba did not relent. He pointed to Rylen and Orli. " _Tell them_!"

The pulse was stronger now. _We're falling_. "Teba..." Zelda called out.

"The war," Saki began. "I tried to ignore it-"

" _Enough!_ " Yahn bellowed. Saki ignored him, speaking only to Rylen and Orli. "Go home," she urged.

"Teba, I need you here!" Zelda cried. _We're falling!_ She ran to the control unit, placing a hand on the controls, but as she was not the pilot, she could do nothing.

"I'm sorry I let his happen," Saki continued. "But Teba is right-"

Her words became a shriek as Yahn brought a fist hard across her face. Teba was swift and precise, tackling his former apprentice to the ground as Vah Medoh suddenly lurched sideways, its entire right flank dipping.

The stone fell out from underneath her. Zelda screamed, her stomach leaping into her throat as she plummeted down the steeply sloping platform. She was slammed hard into one of the ancient pillars, but managed at the last moment to wrap her arms around it, her legs whipping out underneath her. There was nothing to stand on but air, and when she looked down, she saw clouds. The propellers revved ferociously, but the Beast continued to fall.

Above her, the Rito had scrambled. She caught wisps of bright colours as they darted through the air. The black and white of Yahn and Teba, airborne, tussling, swooping and diving as they traded blows. The streak of pink that followed, desperately trying to pry the two Rito apart. And the blue and greens of Rylen and Orli, chasing close behind in a vain effort to make sense of the sudden fighting. Zelda kicked, dangling high above the thousand foot drop back to the earth, heaving through terrified gasps as she tried to keep hold of the stone pillar. Medoh lurched again, this time to the left, and Zelda was thrown back down onto the floor of the platform. Only the Beast did not stop, its left side continuing to arc downwards, and soon she was scrambling to find something new stop her descent.

Zelda slid helplessly across the now platform, back towards the main control unit, landing on an ancient pillar just thirty feet from the terminal. Yahn and Teba slammed into the stone platform beside her, springing apart and careening down the towards Medoh's left wingtip. Saki followed above, shrieking for them to stop.

As she passed, the Rito woman turned back towards Rylen and Orli, who were still in pursuit. "Go!" she shouted, wheeling herself around midair to face them. "Get everyone out of the village! This thing is going to crash!"

With hasty nods and waves, the pair of Rito disappeared over the edge of the platform.

"Get back here!" Yahn shouted, vaulting himself off the steep platform and racing through the air after them. Teba had done the same, wings beating as he chased after the black-feathered Rito.

As Medoh slowly began to roll to the right, Zelda climbed down onto the horizontal platform, releasing her desperate grip on the stone column. She clambered to her feet and sprinted towards the main terminal, entirely unsure what she would do when she reached it.

Teba and Yahn were not done. They met in the air once again, exchanging blows, rolling and spiralling over each other, with Saki at Teba's side, and then Yahn's, her pleas for them to stop unheard.

Medoh lurched against, this time backwards, and Zelda managed to grab hold of the smooth stone of the terminal just as she lost her footing. The Beast was silent, the rumble from its propellers having completely disappeared. The only sound was the rush of the wind as the ground raced towards them.

Desperate, Zelda slammed her right hand down on the terminal, the crisp Royal Crest searing in a powerful golden light, and her vision blackened, the voice booming within her.

 _Keeper_. _I am compromised._

Zelda opened her eyes and saw darkness still. "What's happening?" she cried. She was no longer on Medoh, but rather in an endless and consumingly bleak room. Across from her was a figure shrouded in shadow, her green eyes stern and shining. Then the darkness splintered, shattering into light. Zelda covered her eyes, only to find she was back on Vah Medoh. It spoke again.

 _I require help._

"How?" Zelda called out to the Beast. She could feel its entire make; every gear, and every core. She closed her eyes and was awestruck by a vision of the curving horizon of Hyrule, presented before her in its full glory. The Beast answered.

 _The Three._

She looked down at her hand and the trio of triangles against the back of her palm. _The power!_ With all her might she surged her magic into the control terminal, feeling it in her veins, in her skull. No longer physical; something spliced from reality itself. She could taste the Malice within Medoh on her tongue, and exultant, she fought back against it. The corruption was cowed, and it withered under her force, but it was not destroyed.

Medoh began to lift once more, its propellers droning. Zelda's hand stung. Her mouth was dry. Once Medoh had regained what seemed like its full power and had returned to a horizontal position, she slumped from the control terminal and fall limp against the ancient stone platform.

The still brawling Rito barreled down onto Medoh's back, having been airborne once again. Yahn leapt to his feet, followed closely by Teba, who threw a wild punch towards him. Yahn dodged, returning the strike in double, and shoved Teba to the ground. Saki fell at her husband's side.

"Please stop, both of you!" she shouted.

Zelda's whole body ached. She could barely move, managing only to pull herself onto her knees. She looked up, and saw Yahn advancing towards her.

"So _you're_ the pilot!" he bellowed, brandishing his dagger. "Not the old man!

"Zelda!" Teba was on his feet and launching himself onto Yahn before either Saki or Zelda could react. They tumbled to the ground again, but the apprentice rolled away, and in a deft motion he grappled and pinned the warrior against the stone. Yahn raised his dagger, so high that it glinted in the sun.

" _NO!"_ Saki screamed. She bolted forwards, desperately wrenching the blade away from Yahn's wingtip, and in a single, almost unseen motion, she buried it deep into his neck.

Yahn choked and spluttered, face twisted with disbelief as a rain of crimson blood burst from the wound. Saki wrenched the blade free, dropping it as though it had burned her, and Yahn fell back against the stone. Saki's wingtips were soaked in blood; the same that had sprayed Teba's clean white feathers, the same that was pooling under his former apprentice.

No one moved. No one spoke. Zelda had not even gasped. She blinked stupidly at the gruesome pantomime before her. Teba's beak fell open, his gaze fixed on his wife.

Saki took three steps backwards, her face leaden. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and gave them one last horrified look, before taking wing, and disappearing south.

* * *

As it turned out, only Cinelgen was interested in accompanying Link to Rudania. Inglis, having grown up in Akkala, was not fond of the heat, while Aurelia simply wanted to go nowhere near what she called a 'mountain ready to blow'. Marlo was already struggling, more than Inglis, his feathers made for the frozen climate rather than the boiling, and Teel had refused to stay on the mountain any longer than a day, and had left that morning to wait for them at the Foothill Stables.

If Yunobo had any suspicions, he did not show them, and he chatted happily with Link as they hiked up the mountain. The Goron youth recounted seeing Rudania attack the Castle, and plied Link for details on the battle. He thankfully seemed unaware of Zelda's existence, for Link had not figured out how to explain away her absence.

"Tell me about this Beast," Cinelgen beseeched of Yunobo as they approached the summit.

"Uh, well, I don't know much!" Yunobo admitted with a laugh. "But I know he's in some dormant state. And that he was once piloted by the Champion Daruk. He was my ancestor, you know. It's kinda funny."

Cinelgen's attention piqued. "Your ancestor?"

"Yeah, well, yes." He tugged on the Champion scarf that he wore around his neck. "At least I was told and I-"

Link heard the now familiar menacing curiosity in Cinna's voice. "So maybe _you_ can pilot Rudania?"

"Uh, well-"

Yunobo was cut off by a piercing screech that soared through the air from the west, echoing across the rocks around them. The trio turned in unison to look, and in the far distance, Link saw Vah Medoh jolt forward. It seemed to shudder, once, twice, and a third time, until it finally lifted off from the rock spire of Lake Totori. "Woah!" Yunobo gasped, Rudania forgotten behind them.

 _Zelda!_ Link nearly cheered. _You did it! I knew you would. I always knew!_ He wanted the dance, he wanted to sing, but could not. Instead, he watched in silent awe as Medoh climbed into the sky, screeching once again. It tore through the air, nearly disappearing into the clouds. But almost as suddenly as it had risen, it stopped, and then it banked steeply to the side, and then the other, tumbling through the air.

"No!" Link cried out, unable to stop himself. His legs were carrying him forward as if absurdly he could reach her in time, and he yelped as he was suddenly constricted at the neck. Cinelgen was yanking him backwards by the collar.

"Hey, what-" Yunobo said.

"What are you doing?" Cinelgen barked.

In the distance, Link caught sight of Vah Medoh at it flashed with a golden radiance, and began climbing once again. _Her powers!_ She'd done more than just launch Vah Medoh. She had cleansed it, somehow.

 _Alone_ , he thought, _alone and without me._

Link looked up at Cinelgen, and then back to Yunobo, and then out across Hyrule towards Hebra. His collar was tight around his throat, and Cinelgen was demanding again that he answer, but all Link could think about was that Zelda was there in the sky and she was alive, and he needed to help her in any way he could. He heard his own voice say, _but she doesn't need you_. Link didn't care.

"Is-is everything alright?" Yunobo asked nervously.

No more disguises, no more lying, no more masks. Link spun around, landing a punch hard against Cinelgen's gut. The Gerudo keened, stumbling backwards, a choked around escaping his lips. Link turned to Yunobo.

"You need to find the Princess," he said urgently. "Her name is Zelda!"

"What? Where?"

Link pointed to where Medoh flew. "There! Find her! Help her!" He dodged Cinelgen's swift retaliation; a sudden blow aimed at the face. "This man is my captor! They've taken the Castle!"

"Enough!" Cinelgen spat. He brought his bony fingers around Link's neck.

"Hey! Hey!" Yunobo shouted, storming forward. Cinelgen dodged, using his momentum to slam Link into the rocky mountainside. Yunobo careened past them, down the mountain path, rolling across the rubble and tumbling out of sight. Cinelgen wasted no time; he slammed Link against the rocks again. His vision flashed white and his eyes rolled in his skull, the pain blossoming from his temples to his toes. He heard the voice again. _She survived without you. Launched that Beast without you._

Before Yunobo could return, the Gerudo had dragged Link back down the mountain. They cut past Goron City, all the way back down to the Foothill Stables. Link was too injured - too dazed and weary - to fight back.

"We gave your our trust!" Cinelgen seethed, throwing Link to the ground. "And you betrayed us - betrayed me!"

When he spoke, he tasted blood. "Oh, you think I was on your side?" Link rasped. He stumbled to his feet, skin tingling, body throbbing with pain.

"Then you lied to us!" Cinna said, wildness giving way to wrath. "You've been working with that automaton for how long and you never even could-"

"Oh I could, I did!" Link said. "Rhoamet answers to _me_ , and only me! I was _never_ on your side, Cinelgen."

"Then whose? The Princess's?!"

"Always," he said. Link stood up as straight as he could. "And some day soon, she's going to return, and take back that Castle." _Without you._

"You're a fool if you think that. She's alone, wherever you sent her! You think she's survived this long?"

Link laughed. "Didn't you just see the Beast in the sky? That was all Zelda. I was never the Champion you wanted, it was _always_ her." _And she was fine without you._ _What were you ever for?_ His pride dissolved into a frantic, inconsolable sorrow. "I am a fool, but not as much as you are!"

Cinelgen threw a punch, swinging wildly and Link did not flinch. He caught the blow with his cheek.

"Do it!" he challenged as he regained his balance. "Kill me!"

"You'll die for that girl?!"

Link surged forward, his face only inches from Cinelgen's. "She doesn't need me!" He was shouting now, a new pain in his eyes from where the tears gathered. "She doesn't even want me! So kill me, Cinna! Kill me now! I've died before, it wasn't hard!"

The Gerudo grabbed Link by the collar, and wrapped his hands tight around Link's neck. He closed his eyes and prepared for the pain. Ready to feel the last of it. But then his captor wrenched him backwards, and tossed him into the dirt. Teel had found them then. Cinelgen motioned for her to tie Link's hands in binds.

"We cannot kill you. We need someone to fit the diamond," Cinelgen said once it was done. "And you will make a valuable hostage."

They left him there until dark, but Link was grateful at least that the dirt was soft under his head. _Words are worse_ , he thought as the pain coursed through him. _Words hurt more_. But he'd been wrong there, he realised, as he'd been wrong about so much in his clumsy attempt to play manipulator with his captors. He searched for a new mask to wear, and found none. Not the Knight, not the researcher, not the spy.

He was himself at last.

* * *

There had not been time to clean themselves up. Teba's white feathers were still spotted with blood, and Zelda was still queasy and broken as they stood before Elder Kaneli. Vah Medoh circled the village above them; Zelda had run a final diagnostic, right before they descended from the Beast. The Malice had receded somewhat, but would return soon. No time. Never any time.

Half the village had come to witness the meeting. They whispered amongst themselves at the strange sight of the dishevelled Hylian girl, and the injured Rito warrior before them. Zelda tried not to see the suspicion in their faces.

Elder Kaneli rocked gently in his chair as Teba spoke. "Yinli is dead. Yahn is dead. My wife is gone. Medoh is functional but very unwell. Your operation is over."

The old owl bristled. "I have no idea what you speak of."

"But you do!" Rylen piped up. He and Orli had returned to the village as Saki instructed. They stepped forward from the crowd. "Why did you never tell us Yinli was dead?"

"Because it means your alliance was a failure," Teba said pointedly. "It didn't deliver the Rito into glory, it started a civil war."

The Rito murmured. _The war?_ They whispered. _But we're not involved._

"We did no such thing," Kaneli said.

"But if you did..." Teba peered around at the crowd. "I heard talk of a food shortage. Judging by these angry faces, it'd be bad for that to last much longer."

"There is a shortage of grain from Necluda due to some danger on the roads, nothing more!" Kaneli insisted.

"And goat's milk too!" someone in the crowd said. "And fish from Lanayru!" said another.

Teba folded his wings at his chest. "Sounds bad," he said knowingly, trapping Kaneli in one of his harsh glares.

Zelda produced a blue and white neckerchief that she had pulled from Yahn. It had been tucked in his bandages as before. She held it out to Kaneli. "Have you seen this before?"

"I have!" Rylen cut in again.

"As have I," Orli added. Kaneli remained tight-lipped, squirming.

"Bandits of every race wear these," Zelda went on. "Yahn carried one. Yinli wore one around his neck. Isn't that right, Rylen? Were those in your camp bandits?"

Rylen's face dropped. "What do you mean, bandits?"

"Those soldiers," Orli answered. She gently took the scarf from Zelda's hands. "The Hylians that Yahn brought into the camp. He said they were friends of his, but they all wore this scarf."

"You don't have to listen to this girl!" Kaneli protested. "Yahn warned us about her! A Hylian mage, a _witch_ , come to destroy Vah Medoh!"

The Rito were uproarious then. Zelda opened her mouth to argue when Tulin's voice suddenly burst through the crowd. "But she's not!" he cried, racing towards his father. Teba took him under his wing. "You saw Vah Medoh turn gold, didn't you? Right before it stopped falling!" He looked up at Rylen. "She saved it! She stopped it from landing on the village!"

Rylen gave Zelda a long, hard look. _You tried to kill me_ , she remembered. _Those bomb arrows nearly killed us both_. The broad Rito looked up to where Medoh hovered. "The fledgeling is right. The mage saved the village."

"That she did," Teba flashed her a grin. Kaneli was bumbling, muttering at the affront, but Zelda ignored him. She saw some in of the Rito nodding, and leapt at the opportunity.

"Then listen to me!" she said, addressing the villagers. "You are running out of food, and a civil war is destroying your home! And your Elder made a mistake. He allied with those who started it! But he couldn't have known - none of us could!" She looked again at Kaneli. "Help me destroy these bandits, and I will end it once and for all."

"I still don't understand!" Orli said. She held Yahn's neckerchief tight between her wingtips. "Yahn called you a Princess. Kaneli says you are a mage. Saki said you were a bard. Who are you then?"

In her periphery, Teba was smirking, and it was all she could do to stop from laughing. "Right now, it doesn't matter," Zelda said. "I just want to help, and I want to end this chaos."

Kaneli stood from his chair. "Fine! But I have a condition," he announced.

"You are in no place to negotiate!" Teba growled.

The crowd jeered. _Aye!_ They cried. _Kaneli did this to us!_

Zelda held a hand out to them. "No, listen to him."

Kaneli lumbered out of his hut, his round form wobbling as he walked. He peered up towards the sky, and pointed to Vah Medoh.

"Do what Cinelgen's people could not," he said. "Medoh is unwell, you say? Then cure him. Return him to us, and the Rito are yours."

* * *

 **A/N: A day late but here it is! The biggest chapter yet!**


	16. Flight

**_A/N:_ I just want to thank everyone for the lovely reviews. This work continues because of your support!  
**

* * *

 _They met on the landing. It was new, unnamed_ _. R_ _evali naturally suggested they name it after him. Zelda listened patiently as he re-explained his argument; that he was, after all, the best archer in the village, a master of aerial techniques and above all the premiere fighter amongst the Champions._

" _Well, enough about me,"_ _the Rito Champion_ _said, and for once she thought he might act humble. But Revali was not one for surprises - giving, or taking. "Tell me this chosen boy snores in his sleep, or is a terrible cook - anything Zelda," he urged as she rolled her eyes. "Our hero can't be all that."_

 _Zelda sighed, not wanting to think about her new appointed Knight. It was bad enough that she couldn't even come here without Link, let alone that_ everyone _, including Revali, plied her for gossip, or stories of his exploits._

" _I don't want to talk about_ _him_ _," she murmured, pressing her lips into a thin line, and tightening her grip_ _on_ _the railing of the landing._

 _Revali_ _sighed_ _, feigning a casual disdain. "Of course, me neither," he muttered, but then, with a sudden honesty, he placed_ _a_ _wing on her shoulder. "But promise me something. If he ever mistreats you, you tell me," Revali clicked his beak, leaning in close, "And you tell_ him _to go pluck himself."_

 _Zelda covered her mouth to suppress her giggle. "Revali!" She scanned the landing to ensure that no one had heard._

" _And listen," Revali went on. "Just stay you. Don't define yourself by his presence. So what_ _-_ _he's got that little darkness sealing sword. You have worked just as hard."_

 _She waved away the praise. "I would hardly call_ _dedications and prayer_ _work."_

 _He gave her shoulder a squeeze. "_ _Well, y_ _our dedication is quite impressive, Princess...and dedication deserves its own reward."_

 _Coming from him, perhaps it was true. "I just wish I knew what to do."_

 _Revali crossed his wings at his chest. "You will find a way," he assured her. He turned his gaze to the horizon beyond the landing, to the gentle slopes and plains, and the splendour of their_ _kingdom_ _. "You know as well as any of us, that sadly, you have no choice."_

* * *

It took a few days for the villagers to stop complaining about the noise. The rhythmic, vibrating _chk-chk-chk_ from Divine Beast Vah Medoh's propellers was constant now as the ancient bird circled the village in a continuous patrol. Teba reported hearing its voice in his sleep, and sensing its presence even at its great height. He said that if he held still he could be up there with it; that when he closed his old eyes, the ancient ones would open. _He's bonded well with his Beast,_ Zelda thought. _Better than any of the others_ _had_ _._

Zelda found him meditating, knelt at the centre of his home, his wings on his lap and his head bowed. Tulin was not with him she noted; likely off playing with Kass' daughters. Enjoying the afternoon, as all children should.

She sat at down Teba's side, and placed the mug of Hyrule Herb tea that she had brought from the kitchen on the floor in front of him. The steam rose in wisps, dissipating into the chilly air and she caught it between her fingers.

"Tea for you," Zelda said. Teba's eyes did not open.

 _I understand,_ she wanted to say, aware that she couldn't in truth. _I've felt pain too. I've lost people, hurt people, killed people. Please, talk to me_.

But all she said was, "Drink," and pushed the cup towards him.

Teba spoke in monotone, his attention elsewhere. "I don't drink tea."

"Well, Hyrule Herb is good for you. It's a cure-all."

"Hyrule herb is good for colds, and other infectious illnesses," Teba corrected her.

Zelda lifted the cup, allowing herself a short moment to savour the warmth, and held it out to him. "Your melancholy is infectious," She moved it closer to his face. " _Drink_."

The warrior's broad chest rose and fell in a drawn out huff. Under his sharp brows, his amber eyes flickered open, and he took the mug from her hands, bringing it to his beak for a single, cursory sip.

"There, not so bad, see?" Zelda said sweetly, and for a heartbeat she was sure he smiled.

A certain peace had befallen the village after the incident on Vah Medoh. They had time to rest; whatever she had done to the Beast, she had subdued the Malice within. The next step was destroying it. _Though how, I do not know_. She thumbed the fabric of Link's tunic. _Do you?_

The food shortage remained, but the outrage was tempered - honed into a purpose. Every hour Rito warriors and apprentices were calling into Teba's home to offer their services as fighters, or discuss the plan to end the war. Rylen and Orli came together to offer their apologies, and unravel the mystery of this Gerudo they had apparently been aiding. Zelda weaved the story into a concise and damning tale, and when she was done, Rylen half swore to kill Cinelgen himself.

"Snake!" he hissed. "Using Yinli's own son to turn our advisor against us, and our Elder too!"

Orli had made the mistake of asking where Saki could be, at which point Teba broke from his charged silence to order the visiting Rito from his home. It was then that Zelda had fetched him the tea, shutting the door to his home to let him sit alone at last.

Zelda rubbed her right arm while Teba sipped the tea - she had landed on it during her tumbles across Vah Medoh, rendering it stiff and sore, though thankfully it was not broken. The entire incident had left her badly bruised - a patchwork of mottled purples and reds, and sickly greys and yellows. But she was surprised to find that, aside from the dull, pervasive ache, she felt hardened. Emboldened. She had purchased a bath from the innkeep the evening prior, and as she undressed, she caught her reflection in a flecked mirror that rested against the far wall of the bathhouse. It was an apparition that confronted her then, quite unlike the Princess who had emerged from Hyrule Castle nearly half a year before. She saw what seemed like a stranger. Someone scarred, but made strong. Someone scorned, but made vengeful. The girl of mountain glass was gone. _Will you even recognise me?_ she thought.

Teba kept a steady, lofty watch on the horizon beyond the threshold of his home. He sipped the tea slowly, movements measured, seizing control where he could find it. Zelda knew the look in his face however; she had seen it in others, felt it in herself. _He is not here_.

Careful, reassuring as a warm-hearted governess, she ventured to cross the wall he had raised around himself, "She will come back, Teba."

"Yeah?" Teba rasped.

"The way she spoke. It sounded like she only wanted what was best for the village,"

Teba raised the mug to his beak, and grunted. "I'll bet." He took a long sip as Zelda continued, emptying the cup.

"And Yahn…" The image of the black-feather Rito's body flashed through her mind, slumped against the stone, sleeping in a pool of blood. "You know she was only trying to protect you. She'll come back Teba, I'm sure of it."

Teba lowered the mug and looked at her at last.

"Well you wanna know something?" he frowned. "I don't need convincing. I already believe what you're saying. I just want her home," He squinted at the horizon, as if Saki could appear at any moment. "I'm not even angry anymore. Not at her, at least."

Zelda tried not to be surprised; Teba had plenty of reason to reject Saki, to curse her for what she had done. But in his silence she felt no lingering resentment. His forgiveness was the absence of the fury he deserved. _Is forgiveness what I deserve?_

"You truly hold nothing against her? Even after...all she said?"

Teba chuckled. "She's my wife. More than that, my _partner_. Though I know what you're thinking. She and I are nothing alike."

Zelda shrugged. "I might have been."

A smile softened his granite features, and he spoke like a young man, smitten once again. "Saki hides her fierceness under pretty braids and dainty clothes, but it's a disguise, just like yours was. No one expects quick wit from her, or strength. Before we married she was going to become a diplomat, in service to Elder Kaneli. She has a real talent for being agreeable. For making you do as she pleases, and wanting to as well," He gave Zelda a nudge. "Reminds me of someone."

She nudged him back. "Who knows what she sees in you then," she teased, and Teba laughed a great, throaty laugh. "Who knows indeed."

Above them, Vah Medoh circled into view, its propellers thrumming dutifully. "At least I have you," Teba muttered, looking at his Beast.

Zelda reached for her golden harp, now keeping it hooked to her belt, and ran her fingers idly across the strings. Kass had only taught her two songs; her own lullaby, and the ancient hymn. She chose the hymn, not wanting to weep. Feeling the sting of the strings against her fingers, she began to play.

"It hurts, you know. I can feel the corruption, like bugs in my skin," Teba said. Zelda sighed. _The Malice_. "We don't have much time," he added. "Two days tops before he falls out of the sky."

 _Not enough time to find Link then._

"Do you think Kaneli is being honest?" she asked as she continued to play. "He'll support me if we cleanse Medoh?"

Teba grumbled, scowling at the mention of the village Elder. "The old owl might be an idiot, but he isn't a liar.

"Then we will cleanse Vah Medoh," she decided, the words striking anxiety deep within her chest. "Somehow. _Without_ Link." It was the last thing she wanted. The last thing she could have imagined. _Is that why you sent me here?_

Teba pointed up at the Beast, confusion faltering his stony expression. "Wait - so that thing you did with Medoh? That wasn't it?"

Zelda shook her head. "That was only half of it. The ritual needs us both. Or at least, it needs the Sword."

"So what did you _do_?" Teba squinted thoughtfully, but Zelda felt no more clarity than he did.

"I just….I don't know," She ran her fingers over the strings of her harp, trying to recall her actions and thoughts. "I placed my hand on the control terminal, used my power, and suddenly I was somewhere else…some _other_ _place_. I could see a woman, and I could hear something, a drone, a chant or..."

Her fingers froze. _Or a song._ She looked down at the harp, and her jaw slackened.

"What is it?" Teba urged when she fell silent.

"A song," Zelda whispered. _The_ song. Always, in the back of her mind; each time they performed the Cleansing Ritual, inside Vah Ruta, at Akkala Citadel, within Vah Naboris. Zelda blinked and felt as though the world had been changed, the realisation hitting her like a whip. _The song!_ she wanted to shout. The song Link had spoken of. The song that warmed the Sword. The song Kass had taught her. The song Lexo had sung for her in a past life, in the garden of roses, with Link at her side in a Castle not yet ruined, under a sky not yet blackened. _I know this song_ , Link had said. And now, Zelda did too.

Teba gave her a shake, and the vision flickered. "Zelda?"

"I know what to do," she managed. "Teba, I know how to Cleanse Medoh!"

Teba could not question her further, for the door to the house suddenly creaked open, and a spirited looking Tulin bounced into the room. He stood before them, hopping gleefully from foot to foot. "It's done!" he announced. "Can we show her now, Father?"

"W-what's done?" Zelda muttered, the vestiges of the shock from her realisation only just beginning to fade. She shot Teba an apprehensive look. He held out a wing to his son, surreptitiously calming the excited fledgeling. "I believe we can," he nodded, and Tulin clapped, .

Zelda blinked at them, her mouth still hung open. Teba stood purposefully, a suppressed smile on his face, and she knew something extraordinary must have happened to cheer him like this. He held the door open for her.

"We'll continue this later?" he offered. Zelda nodded, and followed the Rito from their home.

* * *

"Okay, you can open your eyes"

Teba had led her down through the village, instructing her to keep her eyes closed as they brought her to whatever it was that was 'done'. Tulin had bounded on ahead, practically squealing with excitement.

Zelda opened her eyes to find she was in the tailor's shop. Her hand flew to her mouth. "Goddess…" she gasp. Tears nipped at the corners of her eyes, bringing beads of warmth and pain. "This is…"

It was hung on a Hylian-sized mannequin at the centre of the tailor's shop - a deep blue navy coat, with a warm collar and wide sleeves. A single row of buttons ran down the left breast, and adorned at the shoulders were two sets of feathered pauldrons; in blue, and yellow, and green and purple. Strapped over the coat was a leather snowquill chest piece, just like Link's, the interweaving leather forming a sturdy, shapely curve at the waist, and wrapped across that was her own red and white Rito sash. The tailor was hovering behind the mannequin, grinning happily at Zelda's reaction. Bewitched, she ambled forward towards the coat, reaching out to run her hands over the fabric. Wool, thick and soft.

"Teba and Tulin helped me with the design," the tailor said. "And Tulin made your wings."

She looked back at the white-feather duo behind her. They were both smiling; Tulin with his wingtips balled into fists, and Teba with his crossed at his chest, standing tall, and proud. "My...wings?" she asked.

"When a Rito comes of age, Sparrow, they are given their armour," Teba explained. "The pauldrons are their _wings_ , and signify that they have mastered the skill of flight. Some people think the colours matter, too,"

"Purple isn't an easy dye to find," the tailor commented. "But Teba insisted. It's rarity means it often signifies-"

"Royalty," Teba said, giving Zelda a knowing look. She gazed back towards him, stunned, a thousand thoughts in her mind but only three words on her tongue, "I can't fly."

Teba shook his head, and approached the mannequin. "Didn't stop you from jumping after me into Hebra Plunge. Didn't stop you saving Medoh from crashing," he lifted the leather chestpiece and coat from the mannequin and held them out for her. "You're not Rito, but you earnt your wings all the same. And all your clothes are _his_. We thought you could do with something of your own."

Zelda looked down at what she was wearing; Link's tunic, Link's snowquill pants, Link's winter boots. Teba was right, and so she donned the Rito coat and chestpiece, quietly ecstatic to find that they fit snugly. When they brought her to the mirror, she realised the girl she had seen the evening prior was real.

"This is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me," she told the trio of Rito as she appraised her reflection. "I can never repay you,"

"You know how to repay us," the tailor said. He pointed upwards, the implication clear. _Cleanse Vah Medoh_.

Zelda gave a resolute nod. She had the song. She had the Sword. She had her wings. And peaking out from under her armour was the cerulean blue of Link's Champion tunic. _I have everything I need but you_. It would have to be enough.

"Are you ready then?" she asked Teba. "I can't do this without a pilot."

Vah Medoh rounded into their sights once more. Teba closed his eyes, momentarily with his Beast, and when he looked back down at her, he said, "Lucky you've got the best one in the village."

* * *

 _My name is Link and I…_

He passed the time by trying to finish the sentence. Sometimes he managed to, but mostly he could not. Everything had changed, though some things were familiar. The cantor of the horse. The chill in the air. The bite of the binds around his wrists, and Inglis' breath on his neck.

 _My name is Link, and I can feel_. He was captive again, wholly captive now. His stupid outburst on Death Mountain had seen to that. And now his skin stung where the rocks had cut him, and his bones ached where Cinelgen had hit him. His chest burned where the knowing was - the four words that ended his charade. _She doesn't need you._

He could have run. He could have fought. But he didn't. What was the word? _Broken_. _My name is Link, and I am broken_. But at least he was himself. Whoever that was in the mishmash of identities he had taken since his awakening. There had to be someone in that wildness, someone in that chaos who he could know was truly _him_.

Inglis asked the question as they left Eldin. "Why did you do this?" Innocuous. Innocent, almost. Not an interrogation so much as a genuine concern.

Link wasn't sure how to answer; if he even could without being overheard. Cinelgen rode ahead in a stormy silence, with Aurelia by his side. Marlo and Teel rode behind, with the wagon, the housing unit and the finished diamond. It seemed that he was free to talk. _Free_. Link could say what he liked now. It was dizzying. And the only answer was the first one. _My name is Link and..._

"I'm the Hero of Hyrule," he recited, the words a mockery.

"No," Inglis said decisively. "Heroes don't lie. Heroes don't blackmail people. Heroes fight."

"I _was_ fighting."

"By doing what? Being an asshole?"

Link bristled. Maybe this was an interrogation. "Why do you care, Inglis?"

He felt Inglis shrug, and sigh. A light snow had begun to fall. Link caught the flakes with his cheek, and they soothed the throbbing pain. Winter brought strange silences. And they all meant something.

Inglis finally spoke. "You were nice to me," he said in a thin voice. "...when you weren't using me."

 _I never used you_ , Link thought defensively. Except when he had. Another silence. Link bit his lip. He could say anything he wanted. He could lie now, just like he had been, for weeks and weeks. But he struggled; the truth had become novel, it seemed.

"You don't need to apologise," Inglis muttered. "Like you said, fighting."

"I'm sorry. Really." Link blurted, and he knew he meant it. He made note of the feeling, filing away the honesty for reference. A piece of his own puzzle; _My name is Link, and I can feel regret._

Cinelgen had moved further ahead; Aurelia was beginning to lag behind. The Gerudo barked for them to keep up, kicking his own horse into a faster canter. Link winced as Inglis did the same, causing the ropes to rub harder against his skin.

"Why did _you_ do this, Inglis?" Link asked as they sped along the path. "Cinelgen doesn't treat you very well."

"You know why," Inglis answered. _Milagre_. Was it love or something simpler? Link hadn't been able to answer, though Inglis' affections were clear. Milagre on the other hand was unreadable, grey eyes yielding nothing, her long hair shielding her face. Inglis pulled back his horse; they had drawn in too close to the horses ahead. An empty winter forest of sturdy oaks closed in over the path, their bare branches like bony fingers, clasping together to make an archway overhead.

"You know, that's one thing I never understood about _you_ ," Inglis said once they were out of Cinelgen's earshot.

"What?"

"Why you never tried to escape. Don't you want to see her again?'

 _Her_. They each had a _her_ , Link realised; a name unspoken that seemed to be their undoings of late. It almost made him laugh.

"Course I do," Link answered. "But...it didn't work out between us."

 _You wanted to send me away...said you liked me better before._ Even after all this time, Link could still see her face, hear her voice, her anger and her rejection of him. A snowflake landed on his lips. It burned the way she had, that night in the rain. He told himself to forget.

"Yeah, but you still care about her." Inglis countered. "Else you wouldn't have lost it on that mountain."

The Akkalan was right, Link knew, and it stung more than the binds. "You're chatty," he said wryly, tiring of the conversation.

"You're finally you. I couldn't talk to you properly before."

"And you're not meant to talk to me _now_ , remember?"

Inglis was undeterred. Maybe he was rebelling, Link thought.

"I'm just giving you your answer. Mila matters to me," There was a richness in his voice then, with just a hint of loss. The sound of memory. "I wasn't me before I met her. She taught me how to wield a spear, she gave me my first taste of wildwine. Took me to the top of Karusa Valley. We drank a whole bottle. Best night of my life."

"I'll bet."

Inglis ignored the jape. "I had no one before I had Cinna, and without Cinna I'd never have had Mila," He went on. "I'd have no one without him. So that's why I stay. We're nothing without the people we care about."

"Well, I didn't stay for anyone else," Link argued weakly.

"Yeah you did, Hero. You stayed for the Guardian. You _named_ it. You had me sneak you down to the Lockup just so that you could talk to it. We do everything for others, Link, even when it hurts us."

Link said nothing. A conceding silence; he had forgotten about Rhoamet, somehow. Forgotten entirely _why_ he had dragged Cinelgen all the way to Death Mountain. In his madness at seeing Zelda launch Vah Medoh, he had forgotten the one thing that did in fact need him.

"You know, you're smarter than you look," Link said wryly. Inglis kicked his horse to move faster, and Link nearly yelped at the jolt of pain against his wrists as as the binds pulled at his broken skin.

"And you're smarter than you should be," he snapped. "I'm still your captor, remember?"

There was no use arguing. In the ensuing silence, Link played the game again as the snow fell heavier, numbing his cheeks, turning his lips blue. Captive he might be, but he still had work to do. _My name is Link_ , he thought, _and I have a Guardian to free._

* * *

The Gatehouse was cast in a moody blue as the afternoon light began to fade behind the clouds. All throughout the Castle, the oil lanterns were popping out like stars, flickering in the snowy breeze. But the most brilliant source of light however, was from within the Gatehouse itself; the vivid orange luminescence that was painted across the Guardian's outer shell, accenting his winding swirls and organic markings, as well as the tips of the ear-like handles atop his head.

Cinelgen had wasted no time once they returned to the Castle. He rallied his people and marched Link straight from the Stables to the Gatehouse to treat with the Guardian. It felt as though the entire Successor force had come to see the meeting. Two dozen bandits, all with their spears and swords, lined the walls of the arena, and guarded every doorway, their weapons forming a spiny ring of steel around the Guardian. Cinelgen's Successors all scowled as Link was led into the room; word of his betrayal must have travelled fast. _You're all idiots to think I would have done anything else_ , Link thought when he saw the medley of frowns and wrinkled faces. _But then look at your boss_.

Inglis and Aurelia were at the Gerudo's flank, ready with their halberds as always. Even Milagre had come to stand guard, her own spear brought to bear. Her long white scarf was draped across her shoulders, a brilliant river of silk again her Yiga reds and tanned skin. The ochre hue of dusk glinted off the gallery of spears and other blades, almost matching Rhoamet's muted orange glow. He was huddled at the very centre of the room, surrounded on all sides by pointed weapons. Threatened; that was what Link had learned the deep hue to mean. _I feel the same_ , he wanted to tell the automaton.

"I'll need good light to fit the diamond," Link said, noting the receding light.

Cinelgen did not regard him; he had said little more to Link than barked orders since their fight on Death Mountain. This time was no different. "We're not here to fit the diamond."

"Then-"

"You're going to give me the code," Cinelgen said, the words ground between his teeth. "Call me a fool all you want, I'm not stupid enough to let you _arm_ that thing before I can control it." Cinelgen grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him forwards. "You know it in full. Show us."

Link looked to Inglis. Had he told Cinelgen the truth? The Akkalan sensed his question, and shook his head. _Then I won't tell either._ He walked up to Rhoamet, and placed a hand on the automaton's shell. The orange cooled, turning blue as the morning sky.

"Hey buddy," Link whispered. "I'm back."

Rhoamet began to blink; _Hello Link_.

He smiled. "You do remember me." But the Guardian said nothing. It wouldn't understand what _remember_ meant anyway, Link decided.

"The code!" Cinelgen barked. "You will spell it out for me."

"Everything is gonna be fine," Link whispered to Rhoamet, before turning to face Cinelgen. "You have the code," he said defiantly. "I already gave it to you."

Cinelgen stormed forward, seizing Link by the collar. The room tensed, a ripple of movement rounding the bandits as they readied their weapons, unsure of what to expect. "You gave me half of it," Cinelgen spat. "Where is the rest?"

"I don't know it. All I can do for you now is fit the diamond."

" _Lies!_ " Cinelgen shook with rage. "Give me that code, or else."

Link grinned wickedly in the face of his captor. "I told you to kill me. And you didn't. Your threats are _nothing_ now."

Fury burned in the Gerudo's green eyes, his lips quivering at the affront. Link sensed the punch coming, and almost didn't feel it when it landed. The cold had numbed him. The older bruises had hardened his skin. He was a Knight, and Knights did not feel. He didn't even wince it when he hit the ground - although he could taste the fresh blood in his mouth. The metallic flavour made him think of the Master Sword. Goddess help Cinelgen the moment that blade was returned to him. Goddess help the first man who met its bite.

The Gerudo sank his boot into Link's gut. "I will have it!" he shouted. "You hear me!?" He kicked him again, and again, and still Link did not feel. _My name is Link and I am a Knight._ At the periphery of his senses, he heard a swell of shouts, and the drum of shifting boots against the ground. He looked up through blurred vision to see a growing beacon of light widen behind his captor. Cinelgen did not notice, his rage turning him blind, and deaf.

Rhoamet loomed, stepping purposefully and menacingly into view, body fading from anxious ambers, to the livid, harrowing pinks. Link felt his breath hitch; the instinct there to run, to scream, to flee before the bolt of searing energy caught him. But then he was smiling, almost cheering, as his Guardian launched a striking leg towards Cinelgen.

A blur of red and white pulled the Gerudo backwards just in time, and the segmented limb sliced through the air where the his head had been. It arced above Link, so close that he could have reached up to catch it. The blur became Milagre, and she threw Cinelgen from Rhoamet's line of sight, turning towards the Guardian with her spear angled.

"Control it!" Cinelgen roared as he scrambled to his feet. In an instant, a dozen of the bandits threw themselves onto Rhoamet, including Milagre, but the Guardian flailed, throwing them off. It stumbled wildly across the Gatehouse arena, careening from side to side, legs thrashing and trampling any bandits who fell underfoot. The pain had come for Link in a wave then, winding him and keeping him pinned to the ground as he tried to stand. He cried out, reaching for his Guardian, but spat blood.

In the chaos, Rhoamet swatted Aurelia across the face, throwing the Yiga woman to the ground. Inglis was at her side in a moment, as was Milagre, and as they hauled her away, Link saw that her golden hair was splattered red.

Rhoamet continued to thrash, this time scurrying across the dirt floor towards a group of bandits armed with bows, their arrows pinging weakly against his shell. His glowing eye pulsed angrily - if he had ever felt anything at all, Link thought, it was fury. Inglis broke from his hold on Aurelia and ran toward the Guardian with his halberd raised, desperate to quell the chaos.

 _No, no, don't!_ Link thought, pulling himself weakly to his feet. _You'll only get yourself hurt!_

"Where do you think you're going?!" came the snarl from behind as Link felt his whole body seize. Cinelgen had his hand around Link's neck once again, so tight he couldn't breathe.

"Hey! Hey!" Inglis shouted at the panicking Guardian, leaping into its path. "Calm down! It's Inglis! You can calm down!" Rhoamet's cylindrical head jolted and whirred, locking his beady eye onto Inglis. He scurried forward, the other bandits forgotten, angry reds gleaming from the etchings on its shell.

"Inglis!" Link cried, squirming from Cinelgen's grip and sprinting across the arena towards the Guardian, who held a segmented leg raised, the claw twitching as it prepared to strike the Akkalan boy. Link reached them just in time, throwing himself in front of Inglis with his arms held wide.

"No!" he shouted. "Don't hurt him!"

Rhoamet froze, slowly lowering his leg to the ground while the rest of the room watched in silence. The bandits had retreated, but kept their spears pointed forward as always.

"It's okay, buddy, it's just me," Link said, and gingerly he reached a hand forward, just as the first time he and the Guardian had met. With a steady, now assured hand, he touched the shell of ancient stone. "Hey there," he said, smiling up at his companion.

Gradually, Rhoamet began to calm, shell cycling a myriad of colours until finally, he became a soft blue. _Link_ , he said, repeating the pattern of blinking over and over.

Inglis placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks," he whispered.

"You okay?" Link asked. Inglis smiled weakly. "You've got a way with him."

"Well, isn't this nice!" Cinelgen sneered, sauntering towards them with a grin like a sickle across his face. "You're helping each other out? Are you _friends_ now?"

"Cinelgen, please-" Inglis sighed.

"Shut up, Inglis," Cinelgen snapped. "Don't presume to speak to me, traitor, you're not better - I know about your little tryst!' He clapped Link hard across the shoulder, so much so Link winced and started backwards. "Thank you for placating your _pet_ ," Cinelgen said with bared teeth. "But I'll just remind you why we're here, or do you need another reminder?"

 _Posturing as always_ , Link thought, scowling up at his captor as though he had never seen a weedier man. "If you want Rhoamet to trust you," he said pointedly. "You shouldn't threaten me in front of him."

" _Rhoamet_? You named it?" Cinelgen bellowed, his face ripening with a mixture of frustration and delight. "What have I always told you? It isn't one of your Beasts! It's a machine! You think it can trust?"

"It can, you just saw-"

"Shut up! Shut up!" Cinelgen shrieked. "I didn't say you could speak!" The Gerudo turned to Inglis and wrenched the halberd from his grip. "You think it feels? _Do you?_ "

Before Link could answer, Cinelgen spun around towards Rhoamet with the halberd in hand. In a single, fluid motion he brought the blade down hard across the joint of one of the automaton's legs. The bandits jolted backwards in shock, and Link felt a choked scream catch in his throat. Even Inglis and Aurelia cried out when the metal limb was sliced clean from the joint. Rhoamet reeled backwards, blinking furiously and scuttling away in terror as sparks flew from his severed limb. Link tried to chase after him, but Cinelgen brought the halberd forward, and held the point to his neck.

"Damn you, Cinna!" Link spat. "You _are_ a fool. Are you going cut off a limb each time I refuse to give you the code? You'll kill him!"

"You're right," Cinelgen said, grinning hungrily. "I won't cut off one of its limbs, that would be cruel," he pressed the point of the halberd harder against Link's neck. His eyes flashed, the fire behind them cooling into a calculated menace. "I'll cut off one of yours."

Link could not move. The sincerity in Cinelgen's voice was paralysing; this was a threat he was not afraid to act upon.

In the corner of the room, Rhoamet had pressed himself against the far wall, head turning sporadically from side to side, anticipating another attack. _I'll get you out_ _of_ _here_ , Link promised silently, hoping that this was one he could keep.

Cinelgen nodded to Inglis and Milagre. "We're done," he said. "Let's get our braveChampion back to his cell."

He spun the halberd in his hands and drove the pommel hard into Link's chest. The air flew from his lungs so fast that he couldn't even cry out, and before he hit the ground he knew;

 _My name is Link. And I am ready_ _to leave_ _._

* * *

Sky above. Ground below. Zelda hummed the song to calm her nerves. That ancient chant - over and over, until it was inherent within her.

As before, the Master Sword warmed in response. As did the mark on her hand. A positive sign, she noted. The Sword was strapped over her shoulder, feeling strangely light. But even then it was resisting, leaving a niggling feeling of discomfort arcing up and down her spine. Zelda wanted to promise that she would return it to its Master soon, but try as she might, she couldn't even be certain he was alive. One thing at a time, she resolved, and focused at the seemingly impossible task at hand.

Divine Beast Vah Medoh rumbled beneath her feet, and intermittently it began shudder. Its strength was wavering as the Malice dug deeper into its inner workings; time was running out, as always. Shaking from her own nerves, Zelda conducted a final check of her gear; her coat was buttoned up tight, with her snowquill armour worn overtop. The Sheikah Slate was strapped to her belt. And the Sword was at her back. Teba was stood at the controls, a guiding wing at the terminal, his face stilled with focus.

Everything was here. She could stall no longer. _This is how you go home_ , she told herself. _This is how you return to him_. With that in mind, Zelda swallowed hard, and cleared her throat to speak.

"Vah Medoh," she called. "Your sister Naboris told me of a rule that hinders the ritual I seek to perform." She shot Teba an anxious glance in anticipation of an answer. After a moment the Rito nodded, his wing still held against the terminal: _he's listening._

"She told us that you need to be _at rest_ for the ritual to proceed," Zelda went on. "Perhaps, in a low power state, so that you are not damaged."

Teba closed his eyes, hearing the answer that she could not. "You're right," he said eventually, face tightening into a frown. "And that _is_ a problem."

Zelda cocked her head to the side. "It shouldn't be," she was cautiously hopeful. "We can land Medoh on the rockspire, and power him down there."

The silence that followed told her she had spoken to soon. Teba's wingtips curled against the terminal. He looked down at his talons, gathering the strength to speak, and with pained trepidation he said, "...no, we can't. Medoh's talons are jammed in the stowed position."

" _P-pardon_?" His words were almost drowned out by the constant beating of the propellers. Perhaps she had misheard.

But Teba was adamant. "We cannot land," he said firmly. "Thought your Slate would have told you-"

"Well it didn't…!"

Just then, Medoh shook violently. His propellers whirred, a low whine filling the air as they struggled to maintain power. Teba spun around towards the terminal, murmuring softly to soothe his ailing Beast while Zelda gripped onto one of the ancient columns for balance.

"We can't perform the ritual in the air!" she cried. "We'll crash!" Her mind worked quickly, seeking a solution, _any_ solution, as Medoh dipped and banked through the air. _I can't panic_ , she thought. _You wouldn't panic so neither can I._

Teba's focus had not broken from the controls, and Vah Medoh soon begun to recover. As the last of the tremors receded, she stumbled to Teba's side, and placed a hand on the terminal next to his wing. Gasping, she was nearly overwhelmed, and her head reeled backwards as Medoh's enormity of spirit filled her senses. There was a bitterness on her tongue that tasted of dust, and decay.

"He's worse, Zelda," Teba said. "Getting sicker by the hour. We need to do this ritual now."

Zelda drew her hand away, and spoke to clear her mind. "We cannot land," she murmured. "But we _must_ power him down." And then, louder, focusing, "We cannot land. But we must power down."

The understanding dawned on her as she repeated the words, over and over like a prayer. Zelda's eyes snapped open, and she and Teba turned to each other in unison, arriving at the same thought. The same, unfathomable idea. Zelda snatched the Sheikah Slate from her belt, hurriedly checking Vah Medoh's vitals. He was already beginning to lose power, half of his propellers sitting idle and the other half weakening.

"This ritual…" the warrior said urgently. "How long do you need?"

She cast her mind back to the mere two times she had performed the Cleansing Ritual with Link. "A minute?" she guessed.

"Alright," Teba nodded. "Pushing it, but it could be enough. We can still put Medoh in a low power state-"

"-we'll just do it from the air," Zelda said, finishing the thought. "Goddess, Teba…" she breathed. "This is insane."

The warrior just laughed. "Is it?!" he cried, a gleam in his eye and a childish grin on in his face. "Good! I've always wanted to do something like that!" His glee reassured her, even if only for a moment.

Teba refocused on the control terminal, and straining under its own power, Medoh began to ascend. The platform quaked, the air churning around them, and the clouds rushed past them at speed. In the unseen distance below, Hyrule receded beneath their feet.

"So, we climb as high as we can, and then power down," Teba explained, raising his voice over the roar of the propellers. "You cleanse him as we fall, and we'll start him up again."

As Zelda nodded in agreement, a chill gripped her. A tight hand in her chest, _yanking_ , and the old voice that she had been hearing her whole life cut through the Medoh's droning; _you will fail_ , it said. "But...what if we crash?!" Zelda demanded. "What if I can't complete the ritual in time?!"

"I'll get you out of here!" Teba assured her, not a single hint of doubt in his voice. _He's waited his whole life for this_ , Zelda realised. _And he doesn't even know if it will work!_

"You really trust me this much?!"

They tore through a cluster billowing of clouds, the air around them turning white. Zelda was blinded, and Teba disappeared. Medoh lurched, but a wing shot out to catch her by the arm before she fell.

"Funnily enough I do, Sparrow," Teba said. But-"

"But what?!" Zelda anticipated the rest, remembering the preposterous bet the warrior had made with his friend. "Don't tell Kass?!"

Teba grinned wide, a young man once again. "Don't tell Kass!"

The Divine Beast broke through the clouds at last, and above, they were met by the vastness of the sky. The early rising stars and looming twilight greeted them in a huge, blanketing swath of darkness and light. Zelda scanned the breadth of Medoh's outer platform. Sheikah Slate in hand, Sword at her back, she set about finding a way to secure herself to the Beast.

* * *

Link tried to remember a time when he didn't ache in some way or another, and found that perhaps he always had. As a boy, he trained. As a young man, he fought. And now, he collected bruises like butterflies, cataloging them by colour, age, and time of acquisition. He licked his lips and tasted blood, and salt. But for once, the pain did not wear against him. It was armour now. It was stronger than any elixir. It made him bold. And as the trio - the towering Cinelgen, the scowling Milagre and the cowering Inglis - together dragged him back towards the Lockup, Link planned his retribution against them.

Perhaps, not against Inglis. But the rest...Link faintly remembered a time when he shirked from wielding himself against _people_. How times change, and how time changes...

They led him, bound and bloodied once again, across the ruined passageways of the Eastern Passage - Inglis at his left, Milagre at his right, and Cinelgen stomping on ahead. A retinue of bandits followed, their weapons still drawn in case Link attempt a flight escape. Twilight was suspended above them, as was a cloud of malcontent. Link dragged his feet.

"We could use some help, Cinna," Milagre said, nodding towards Link. "This one is all muscle."

Cinelgen did not turn. "It's a bad time, Mila," Inglis whispered.

"A bad time? Because the Champion is here?" She gave Link a shove, hurrying him along the path. "You told this one all your stories, Cinna. You wanted him to trust you!"

Still the Gerudo would not look back. He stormed down the flight of stairs in front of them, down the path that took them underneath the spire of Zelda's study.

"I'm talking to you, Cinelgen!" Milagre called after him.

"Mila, don't-" Inglis tried to calm her, but she ignored him.

"Do you know what your actions have done? Did you see Aurelia?" Milagre hauled Link and Inglis in turn as she marched down the path in Cinelgen's wake. It was the most impassioned Link had ever seen her. "That _thing_ took out an eye! Because _you_ antagonised it!"

Cinelgen shuddered to a halt, spinning on his heel to face them, his face darker than the sky above. "I thought you hated that minx!" he spat.

"She is a Yiga! She's one of my people."

" _I_ was one of your people!"

"And you _left_ ," Link could hear her hurt. He felt Inglis' hand tense around his arm in sympathy. Milagre shook as she confronted Cinelgen; from rage or grief Link wasn't sure, and for a moment he almost pitied her. "Do you know how hard I worked to keep the Elders from hunting you down?"

The Gerudo threw up his arms. "Enough! Enough! Traitors, everywhere." he growled. He pointed to Milagre, and then to Inglis, bony finger judging them each. "How dare you, both of you. How _dare_ you"

"I - I didn't say anything," Inglis stammered.

"But apparently you two _did_ everything, and behind my back!"

"No, Cinelgen!" Milagre blurted. "It was nothing, Cinna. Nothing. I assure you."

Link felt Inglis jolt. "W-what?" he whispered incredulously. "What do you mean _nothing_?"

Link watched with a detached curiosity. The trio were a house of cards, collapsing at the far side of a room - to far to catch them, to help them, but too close to turn away. Inglis had said they would be nothing without each other. So Link watched as the trio became nothing.

"Well what did you _think_?" Milagre challenged.

Inglis could barely speak. "I thought you...that you...that you _cared_ about me, at least!"

By now the entire retinue of bandits was watching. Some sniggering, some with open mouth. Link could hear their whispers, their snide remarks. Their leaders laid bare - just as foolish and petty as the rest of them. Cinelgen stood with arms crossed, scowl growing firmer by the second.

"Cinna really, please believe me," Milagre pleaded. "Forget what you heard. We need to focus on our people!"

Inglis was not done. "So you were just using me then?!" he demanded, his grip so tight around Link's arm that it ached. "Were you bored Mila? Was that it?"

" _No—_ "

He turned to Cinelgen. "And you, do I matter at all to you, or am I just a squire and nothing more?"

The Gerudo's face soured, green eyes narrowing beneath his furrowed brows. "Grow up. Stop your whining."

" _Whining?!_ " Inglis all but shrieked. At once the battalion behind them burst into muffled gasps and whispers. But it was not the argument they gawped at.

"Chief!" cried one of the guards. "Look!"

And they looked. To the west, silhouetted by the last vestiges of daylight, Divine Beast Vah Medoh was climbing through the clouds. Its whole berth circled and shuddered, rising higher and higher, until it disappeared into the clouds.

"What's happening?" one of the bandits cried. None had an answer, but Link knew.

 _The_ _Cleansing R_ _itual,_ he thought, but knew now not to speak. Zelda had the Master Sword. He could sense it. He closed his eyes, feeling the cool air against his cheeks, and the warm hum where the otherworldly sensation of closeness was. If he held still, he was at her side.

* * *

 _I'm okay if you're okay, I'm okay if you're okay_. _Goddess, Link, I really hope you're okay._

Teba had helped tie her to one of the ancient columns with some rope stored in the inventory of the Sheikah Slate. She waited with the Master Sword drawn for his signal, running fidgeting fingertips over her feather pauldrons. Her _wings_. Were that they could let her fly.

Teba had assured her she would be fine during the fall.

"It's the re-ascent that will hurt. The more time you give me, the easier it should be."

He was stood back at the terminal, taking Medoh as high as the Beast could climb. Based on Medoh's weight and shape, the warrior had estimated that it would fall bow-side first, and so Zelda stood facing forwards, with the control terminal, and Medoh's ancient, all seeing face ahead of her.

As they ascended, Zelda spoke to the Sword in the thin hope that it would hear. "I'm not asking to wield you," she whispered, gripping the hilt with both hands, and feeling its fine grooves against her skin. "But I need you to help me. Your Master is held captive in Hyrule Castle. _This_ is how we get back to him."

Higher and higher they flew, and harder Medoh began to shake. Hyrule disappeared beneath them, and the air around them froze, tasting stale and empty, almost unbreathable.

"Can't go much higher!" Teba shouted, turning towards her from the terminal. "We'll suffocate before anything else. Ready to drop when you are!"

Zelda gripped the Master Sword tighter in hand, noting its weight, and steadying her breaths. It no longer felt foreign to hold, or perhaps the cold had made her numb. Her Rito coat was certainly doing its job; even all the way up here she was only vaguely aware of the chill. A good sign, she hoped.

Medoh shook once again. Zelda's heart was pounding in her chest, her blood thrumming in her ears, veins popping from her skin, her eyes only half seeing and her mind barely willing to believe what they gave it. It was so beautiful with the sky around them. So beautiful she almost cried. _You will fail,_ the old voice said. _You will hit the ground. You will destroy this Beast_.

"Clouds," she whispered to herself, closing her eyes and breathing long and low. "These thoughts are just clouds." Zelda looked down and saw the bright blue of Link's tunic. What was it she had once told him? _I'll always be here_. Well he was here with her now. She had to believe he was. His teachings, his tunic, his sly smile as he teased her, his warm arms as he held her. They were all here.

"I'm ready!" Zelda said.

Teba powered down the propellers, and huddled in close to the terminal. "Give me the signal when you're done!" he called back to her. "And remember that I believe in you - and so does Link, wherever he is! I know it!"

The ropes tightened around her body. Zelda felt her chest _lift_ , and the air rush past her ears. Medoh dipped backwards, falling down towards the ground, until it felt as though she were lying on her back.

Zelda held the Master Sword across her chest, and began to sing.

* * *

 _Across every corner of Hyrule, and perhaps beyond, their eyes turn skyward. A winged beast, somehow soaring despite its body of stone, chases the stars as it rises through the sky. And then, when it is almost out of sight, the beast suddenly loops downwards, and begin_ _s_ _to fall._

 _Warrior, Princess, and the Beast beneath them arc down towards Hyrule like a falling star. The Rito opens his eyes as he cwings to the stone, and is met with the blinding brilliance. He looks back, awestruck, to see the little Sparrow radiant like the sun, her eyes are closed, her face is still, the Sword held firm in her grip._ _Her hair and coat whip about her, beating like wings._ _Hyrule is watching, he suddenly understands._

 _And they watch. From the Rito perched in their village, frozen with disbelief as their Divine Beast rockets towards them; to the Zora in their proud Domain, cursing under their lips; to the women of the desert in the south, gazing curiously across the kingdom; to the rock men in the high mountain with wide eyes and gaping mouths; to the bandits holed up in the abandoned Hyrule Castle, and the appointed knight among them_ _, grinning wide and wild_ _; they all watch and they all see as the Beast is enveloped in a golden sphere of light._

 _Across every corner of Hyrule, and perhaps beyond, they recite a single name in unison. The name of the only person that could ever be responsible for such a fantastic sight; the Princess of Hyrule come again._

* * *

She opened her eyes to a stillness that immediately unsettled her, and in the silence realised that her heart was not beating. Darkness all around, but somehow familiar. _I have been here before_.

The figured emerged from the darkness like a mist, walking without moving, like a ripple on a lake or a billow of smoke. "Princess," it said with an ancient voice, almost corrupted. It was shrouded, its face hidden in shadow by a wide hood.

"Where am I?" Zelda whispered.

"You know where you are. You called it the _Other Place_." The figure seemed to smile, amused by the moniker.

Zelda gasped. She was _here_ , again, after trying for so long. But where had she just been? In her hand, she became aware of a great weight. The Master Sword. She did not question why she had it.

"Where am I?" Zelda asked again.

"A place in-between places. In-between times." the figure answered, turning to look across the infinite room. "A realm created to house a great power. But time and ruin have taken its toll. It is now as simple as you call it. It is the Other Place."

"The Other Place…" Zelda repeated. "What dwells here then?"

The figure spoke slowly, with great reverence. "History. Memory. Legend," Zelda realised then that the figure was a woman.

"Who are you?" she demanded. How did I get here!?"

The woman approached, and reached up to remove her hood.

She was a mirror - an apparition. The same height, the same age. She had the same face, the same eyes. Zelda looked, and saw herself.

"I am a part of you," said the woman.

Zelda staggered backwards, horrified. "W-what are you talking about!?" she cried.

The woman was unphased. "I am a remnant of a being who was once a Goddess. She relinquished her immortal soul to become _you_ ….But souls are funny things. A part of her remained, existing only when you do. And here….well, this place is not bound by time, or by space. It offers a freedom of spirit."

"I...I don't understand," Zelda murmured, gazing helplessly at her reflection.

"No matter," the woman said decisively. "You will return here. The Sword is the key, as is the Song."

She reached forward, placed her hand on Zelda's chest, and pushed.

* * *

Flying again. The air a constant onslaught. Hands locked so tight around the Sword that her knuckles ached. Around her, the golden sphere of light finally shattered. The warrior was ahead of her, clinging still to the terminal.

"Teba!" Zelda shouted, the wind tearing the words from her mouth. "It's done!"

Teba reached for the terminal, a wide wing slapping hard against the stone. "Alright, Medoh, let's go!"

At once the Divine Beast roared to life, the full power of its inner cores returned. Its propellers revved ferociously and Zelda fought to hold onto her consciousness as the sudden force barred down hard against her chest. She held the Sword firm in her hands, saw stars on a sky of red and groaned under the invisible weight. But eventually, as Medoh began to lift, righting itself and soaring back into the air, the weight lifted.

The Ritual was over.

Teba hurried to free her from the ropes. "Are you okay?" he asked frantically as she stumbled forwards, struggling to return the Sword to its scabbard. She fell, knees landing hard against the stone of the platform, but did not collapse. Teba was at her side all the same, pulling her to her feet.

"I'm fine...I'm fine," she breathed, steadying herself. "The ritual is just tough."

"Tough!?" Teba cried. "Did you see what you did?"

"I _know_." Zelda said between pants. "I was _there_."

Something had changed then, in the way that he looked down at her. A reverence. The hardness in his face gone, replaced by wonder. "You're really are _her_ , aren't you?" he whispered. "You're the Princess."

Zelda pushed off from him, reaching limply for the Sheikah Slate at her belt. "I've always _been_ her, Teba!" she huffed. "No one will let me forget!"

The warrior keened, stumbling backwards under the force of her shove. In the corner of her eye she saw him run his wingtips through the spiney feathers of his crown, nervous, jittery - realising the gravity of her true identity for the first time. Zelda focused on her Slate, running a diagnostic on Vah Medoh. Her breath had levelled, the wave of exhaustion from the Ritual having passed. _Maybe I am stronger_ , she thought, thinking of the toll the ritual at Akkala Citadel had taken on her.

"Zelda…" Teba said slowly. She looked up to see him gazing with open beak at the platform around them, and felt her lips curl into a smile. Vah Medoh looked made anew, his ancient stone clean, and crisp, the moss that clung to the crevices and cracks gone, and the corruption that had infiltrated him destroyed. The Sheikah Slate confirmed what Teba saw. Medoh was cleansed.

One thing at a time, but no time for pause. Zelda lowered her Slate, and tucked it back onto her belt. "Gawp later," she told the warrior. "I need to speak with Kaneli."

* * *

The clear blue of the sky told that the worst was past. The depth of winter was behind them now. Soon spring would come for Hyrule, breathing life back into the trees, sweeping the plains a verdant green, and the flowers would be found underfoot. Zelda looked up at the crystalline sky with hope, and determination, and wrath. _Savour this day, Cinelgen_ , she thought. _It numbers among your last._

She and Teba stood before Kaneli once more, and again it seemed most of the village was there to watch. Teba held his wingtips clasped at his back, an imposing figure before the plump owl that rocked in his creaky old chair before them. Zelda realised then that she was copying the warrior, her hands behind her back, her stance a little wide. No matter. It made her feel bold.

"The ritual was a success you say, mageling..." Kaneli ruminated, swaying gently in his chair, feathers ruffled by the gentle morning breeze. Teba had made Zelda wait until the next day to meet with Kaneli, perhaps sensing better than she did the exhaustion that clouded her. It wasn't until she collapsed into her bedroll, wearier than she had ever been, that she was grateful for his insistence. Now, well rested, she was ready to treat with the Elder of the Rito.

"Yes, yes," Kaneli decided. "Medoh certainly _looks_ better." The villagers nodded in agreement. Zelda had heard whispers as they walked through the village both the night before, and the morning after. All had seen the golden light, and now those who realised its source had been her bowed their heads as she passed.

"All of my analysis suggests that Medoh is completely cleansed," Zelda assured the Elder. She reached for the Slate, and showed Kaneli the schematic of the Divine Beast. He squinted at the screen, eyes dancing, and shrugged. "If you say so, and if Teba agrees."

"With certainty," Teba nodded.

"And if I may," Kaneli said as he shifted in his chair. He pointed to the Master Sword strapped over Zelda's shoulder. She was not keen to part with it just yet. "I can't help but notice the sword at your back. Is that the one? The sword that seals the darkness? Are you a Champion-descended then, mageling?"

"More than that, Elder Kaneli," Zelda said. She took a deep breath. She had been reciting the words in her head all morning. They felt cathartic, if a little awkward. "My name is Princess Zelda Hyrule. I have used the power passed down by my family to cleanse your Beast. I kept my word. Will you?"

Kaneli rocked in his chair, his wingtips clasped together under his wide chin. "Perhaps, I can," he hummed.

" _Perhaps_?" Teba scoffed.

"Well, what is it that you demand?" Kaneli asked pointedly.

Teba cut in before Zelda could answer. "The Rito will help the Princess retake her Castle. That is the bandit's stronghold."

"Y-yes," Zelda affirmed. Teba had not informed her of this plan. "And...and we will rescue the Champion-descendant Link!"

The suggestion did not seem to have the desired, rousing effect on Kaneli that she had hoped. While the villagers twittered with excitement, the Elder merely frowned. " _More_ fighting. I cannot abide by that."

A sudden indignation stirred within her. "You said the Rito would be _mine_!"

"Not to make more war!" Kaneli countered.

"We would be _ending_ the war!" Teba argued, but it was no use. Around them, the Rito wore faces of fear.

"No, no, no, no!" Kaneli bobbed in his chair as he shook his head. "I cannot send my people to fight! I will not!"

Zelda opened her mouth to argue, but had no chance to speak. For from behind them came the stomping click of talons against wood, and not a moment later, a soft-pink Rito woman had marched up towards the Elder, situating herself between Teba and Zelda.

"Enough, Kaneli!" she said firmly. "You will help this girl. I have seen first hand what Cinelgen is like."

"Saki?!" The name was spoken by three at once; Kaneli with indignation, Zelda with shock, and Teba with awe. He was a moment away from crumbling, Zelda saw, trembling as he beheld his wife.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I know you probably don't want to see me-"

"I did. I _do_ ," Teba stammered. "Why...what made you come back?"

"Y-yes, Saki," bumbled Kaneli. "Why _did_ you come back?"

Saki cast the Elder a stern gaze, and he withered against his chair. "If you all must know," she said, addressing the entire village. "I saw what happened with Vah Medoh. Everyone in the Kingdom probably did. But I knew, when I saw, that only my husband could fly like that." She intertwined her wingtips in Teba's, adding in a whisper, "And that I should never have doubted him."

The village around them was forgotten. Zelda saw the rapture on Teba's face; he was all but consumed. A part of her longed for it, the way the Rito looked together, and at each other. The word she had wanted for so long without realising it - _partners_.

Kaneli ruffled in his chair. "Well, it is good that you return. But forgive me if I don't take advice from _you_ , after the incident with Yahn."

"I was misled, as you were!" Saki insisted.

"Your husband talks of war, Saki. Have our people not suffered enough?"

"Don't you trust us?"

Zelda looked around at the faces of the villagers. _War_. They flinched each time it was said; the warriors with excitement, and the rest with anxiety.

"It isn't about trust!" Zelda piped up. She looked directly at Kaneli. "Is it?"

Again the Elder fidgeted in his chair. The Rito whispered and frowned. _Thank you, Cinelgen_ , Zelda thought. _For this lesson you have taught me_.

"I understand!" she went on. "Some of you are afraid. The people are Hyrule are like leaves in the wind. Scattered and vulnerable. Come the Spring we could all be washed away by the storm."

Kaneli has ceased his bristling, and was listening with intent, as was the rest of the village. Teba and Saki had turned towards her; all eyes were on her.

"Cinelgen thrives on chaos. And just as Saki has, I have seen first hand what he will do." The anger returned to her then. The simmering indignation. Once she had turned it on Ganon. Now she had a new beast in her sights. "I will not let him fight back, do you understand? We do not make war with the vermin under our feet. We simply destroy them!"

A cheer rumbled through the crowd. Beside her, Teba was grinning proudly.

"Is this the plan Teba spoke of, then?" Kaneli cut in, struggling to raise his voice above the noise.

"We just need the Castle," Teba affirmed. "Without that, Cinelgen has nowhere else to go."

"And we can use Medoh," Saki offered. "Cinelgen sought to control it. I can go to him, convince him that the Rito retain it for his use, and that they have the Princess in custody. That will give us the time to rally those we need."

Still Kaneli held a sceptical expression, his wingtips rapping against his chin.

Zelda had one last plea. "Everything you wanted from Cinelgen, I can give you, Kaneli. He would unite you under war. I can do the same with peace. I remember the respected couriers and revered warriors of the Rito from my childhood. Cinelgen wants the Rito only for their power, Kaneli," She bit her lip to choke back the tears, remember those yearly trips through the snow, and the Rito Champion, just like all the Champions, who had filled so much of her lost life. "I want the Rito because they were once my _family_. And we will destroy this man together!"

When Kaneli did not speak, she looked to the villagers. "So what say you!? Are you with us?!"

There was silence at first, until the familiar broad-chested Rito stepped forward. "I am!" Rylen cheered. "For Medoh!" he cried. "For Lake Totori! For the Princess! For Hyrule!"

Next came Teba, and then Saki. And one by one, the voices grew in number. Zelda's eyes never left Kaneli's. Eventually, with a small huff, he nodded.

The cheers shook the morning air, gathering into a thunderous chorus: _For Medoh! For Lake Totori! For the Princess! For Hyrule!_

* * *

Princesses, princesses. Link dreamed of princesses. They never left him alone when he was in this cell. At least now he had the strength of mind to determine waking from sleeping. But it was the same dream, and so part of him knew it was true. A memory returning to him. Roses, tears, a Beast, a garden and a song. A new mystery to solve.

But not this very moment. He allocated the rest of his sanity to escape, deciding with some regret that perhaps that should have been his first step. This time however, he would not escape alone.

"We have many spare Guardian limbs at the Lab," Robbie explained. "Re-fitting them thought, I admit I have never done."

Link had spent the better part of the morning explaining his progress with Rhoamet, and recounting the unfortunate incident of the evening prior. "I feel as though I endangered him, Robbie," Link frowned. "Withholding information. Trying to manipulate Cinelgen."

The Researcher shook his head. "You were just following my orders, Link. And you succeeded. Cinelgen cannot control that Guardian. He never will now. In fact, I must commend you."

"I agree," added Larella from her cell, situated directly across from Link's. "I told you to survive. But you went above and beyond even that. And by your account, Cinelgen's inner circle is crumbling."

Link rested his head against the wall of his cell. _I don't know how much part_ _I_ _had in that,_ he thought.

After being returned to the dingy Lockup, Link was relieved somewhat to find that Larella, Robbie and Granté were in relatively good health. If anything, Granté had gained some strength, and now sat crossed legged by his father, content to listen, but lucid enough to follow the conversation. Their strength was a good omen; they would need it for their escape.

 _We do everything for others_. Inglis had told him that, and Link was unsurprised to learn that Akkalan boy held that particular philosophy. He lived for Cinelgen and Milagre. Such a shame…

But Link found himself quietly in agreement. Was that not the creed of a Knight? And perhaps a Knight was not what he was - perhaps he was _nothing_ anymore. But he knew how to fight. And he knew how to help people. If that's all he was, then that would have to be enough.

The other captives listened quietly to his plan, and gave their approval. "It is not the path I would expect you to take," Robbie said. "But….well, I never expected to find myself _here_ , either."

Night found them anxiously awaiting the instigation of their plan. Link ran through the steps in his head, segmenting them into sequences, flexing his sword hand and stretching his sore joints. The bruises on his body ached, but they kept him alert. Reminded him of the cost of failure.

At last, the turnkey arrived with their suppers. He was one of three Hylians assigned to the cells; the other two bandits, adorned as always by their blue and white neckerchiefs, were stationed permanently at the Lockup entrance. Three against one. Link had faced worse odds. The turnkey threw them pieces of bread and hard cheese, as well as a lonesome piece of meat each.

"Hey there," Larella purred as he approached her cell, pressing herself against the bars.

"Not tonight, sweetheart," the turnkey sighed, clearly vexed. "Much as I enjoyed your company. Chief is throwing a feast."

"Aw," she pouted, grabbing the lapels of his thick winter cloak. "Shame. Though, I never did enjoy _your_ company,"

The Ambassador gave the turnkey a sudden, sharp shove with all of her might, and he careened backwards, landing against the bars of Link's cell. Lightning fast, Link wrapped an arm around the man's neck, reached down to his belt and alleviated him of his dagger. Before the turnkey could shout, he sunk the dagger into the back of his thigh, and the man staggered to his knees, his pained shouts filling the Lockup. Fingers moving deftly along the turnkey's belt, Link unhooked the wide ring of keys. In the cells opposite him, Larella was buzzing with excitement, while Robbie and Granté watched with still, mortified expressions.

The dagger still in hand, Link quickly opened the door of his cell, and stepped forward to meet the advancing Hylian guards.

"Get him!" rasped the turnkey, still sunken against the ground with his hands wrapped around his injured leg. "B-but don't kill him! He's the Champion!"

Brandishing the dagger in one hand, Link nodded to the Guards. "Come then," he said, feeling his blood run hot.

The first guard swung wildly, longsword gripped clumsily in his right hand. Easy to block, and throw him off, even with the dagger. The second came in with a stab of his short sword. Link dodged. His breath quickened. He had forgotten what it felt like to move like this. As the second guard regained his balance, Link used the opening to kick him square in the gut, knocking the man backwards onto the floor. Behind them the turnkey cursed and groaned, shouting at the guards to pull themselves together.

The first had recovered, his left arm lashing forwards to try and catch Link in a grab. He dodged again, and barrelled forward into the guard's chest, throwing him against the bars of Larella's cell. She squealed in delight, but gasped when Link drove his dagger hard into the man's right arm, wrenching his longsword from his grip. He spun around just in time to catch the second guard's wide slice, pushing him backwards with blow after blow, the guard only barely able to block. Each time the steel rang, Link felt a surge of suppressed fury, of desperation, and he began to lose himself to his sword. But the guard had finally had enough, and with a roar he launched himself forward, in a vain attempt to tackle Link to the ground.

It took only a small shift in his footing, and a lock of his muscles for Link catch the man through the chest with his longsword. The Hylian man's face twitched with disbelief, his feeble mouth gaping in slow bobs like a fish seeking air. Link pushed him off of the blade with his boot, and turned his attention to the two remaining guards behind him.

With a wretched cry, the first guard pulled the dagger from his arm, and stumbled towards Link, his face wrought with pain. It almost felt wrong, almost felt too easy, but Link had no plans on drawing out the fight. He deflected the guard's weak slice with the dagger, and ran him through as he had with the other, aiming for the heart.

The turnkey began to scream for help, a hand on his undrawn sword. Link took the dagger from the first guard's hands, and picked up the ring of keys, which had landed forgotten by Larella's cell. He smacked them hard across the turnkey's face to silence him. "Did you hurt her?" he demanded, pointing towards the Ambassador.

"I-I-I…." the turnkey muttered. "The others did too! I was just following! Cinna said we could! Cinna sai-"

The turnkey was silenced again, this time by a dagger. He flopped to the ground, gasping and shrieking, hands slapping at the hilt of the dagger that had been buried in his chest. Link ignored the man's cries, knowing that they would not be heard all the way down here, and began thumbing through the keys.

But the sound of footsteps at the Lockup entrance quickly proved him wrong. Link tore the dagger from the turnkey's chest, holding it ready, only to be met with a breathless, and now horrified Inglis.

"Oh, _fuck_!" he cried when he saw the carnage. "Link! You just needed to wait! I was coming to get you. There's a feast, I was going to sneak you out!"

Dagger still raised, his stance still wide, Link looked down at the bodies, and then back to Inglis, sickening regret stirring in his gut. "Well I didn't _know_ _that_ , did I?" he hissed.

Inglis had his hands to her face. "Hylia help us. Did you have to _kill them_!?"

"That's what I said," Robbie interjected from his cell.

"I'm a captive, remember!" Link argued. "I couldn't take chances!"

Inglis shook his head, reching as he walked further into the Lockup. "Help me move them," he ordered. "Let's just get them out of sight."

Link followed Ingis' lead, hauling the turnkey, and then one of the guards into a dark corner of the Lockup. Inglis reched again once they were done, coughing and spluttering, resting while Link feed Larella, Robbie and Granté.

"Why are you even here, Inglis?" Link asked as he tested the keys to find the right one.

"You know why," Inglis grumbled. "It was bad enough that he cast me off in front of half of the Successors. But even in private she told me it was over. That she had always planned to rule at Cinelgen's side, no matter what. _As his Queen_ , she said." Inglis coughed again, this time looking as though he really would throw up. "I'm done, Link," he sighed. "I came to free you to spite them, and then I was going to pack up my things and go before sunrise."

Link extended a hand down to the Akkalan boy. "I'm proud of you," he said, but Inglis just shrugged, muttering, "I don't feel proud. I feel like an idiot." He stood and scanned the Lockup, silently appraising the prisoners before him, and sighed once more.

"You know what we're going to ask," Link said. Inglis gave a small, weary nod. _One last errand, Inglis,_ Link thought _,_ clapping his friend on the shoulder in thanks. _And then you're free._

* * *

His many months at the Castle meant that Inglis knew its layout well. The Akkalan boy led them down the winding pathways and alleys with a casual ease, knowing that most of Cinelgen's Successors would be at the feast. And soon they had reached the waterfalls of the north face; three tiered plunges and pools that would lead down to Hylia River.

"You've two strong swimmers among you, so you should be fine," Inglis told them, motioning to Larella and Link.

"One," Link corrected with a frown. The others glared at him in shock, a weak _No!_ escaping Larella's lips. "You'll be going without me."

"Why, Link?" Granté asked. "You've done so much already, you should come with us."

With a small smile, and a sideways glance at Inglis, Link said, "There's one here who still needs me. He's a lot like me. He wasn't born to fight, but made to. Pushed beyond his duty. Made into something he never would have been."

"Rhoamet?" Larella asked quietly. Link nodded. _Among others_ , he thought.

"I need to fit his new diamond. Then we'll leave together," he explained. Robbie had his head bowed in thought, a hand to his chin. The eyepieces of his goggles whirred softly. As Larella assessed the waterfall and the leap they would need to make, he said, "Your research with the Guardian has been an invaluable addition to our knowledge of them, Link."

Link couldn't help but laugh, and awkwardly scratched his neck. "I don't know that I would call it research…"

"It was. Most definitely." Robbie asserted. "If you survive this, we would very much appreciate if you could bring Rhoamet to Akkala." He reached up to his goggles, and gingerly pried them from his face, before looking up at Link through weary, reddened eyes. Determinedly, he pressed the goggles into Link's hands. "You will need these to fit that diamond, Link. Macroscopic lenses. Perfect for delicate work."

"I…I can't…" Link hesitated, though he could not help but turn the bronze goggles over in his hands, admiring the detailing and their diffuse cerulean glow.

"Take them! I have no sentimental attachment to them," Robbie urged him. And then he scoffed, "Purah wears hers as a hairpin!"

Head bowed low in silent thanks, Link looped the cord over his head, letting the goggles hang from his neck. "I don't know what to say."

"Say nothing then, Champion. Do as you said. Get Rhoamet out of this foul place."

Larella returned from the waterfall's edge, satisfied that it was safe. She stood before Link, and curtseyed. The lady, as always. "When you see Zelda, give her my regards. And apologise that I couldn't do more here."

"You were her first friend, Larella, she'll never forget that."

The Ambassador shook her head, her face lifting with a smile. "No, Champion," she said with a laugh. " _You_ were."

At last the trio of prisoners were ready to make their escape. Larella took Robbie and Granté under an arm each and together, after one final wave, they leapt into the water below.

"Akkala," Inglis sighed once they had gone. "I haven't been there in years. What I wouldn't do to go to Akkala."

Morning was almost come, the last of the stars beginning to fade. They would need to return Link to his cell soon. But the Castle still slept. There was some time at least.

"I'm going to need your help to get Rhoamet out of here," Link told the Akkalan. "Is that okay?"

Inglis shrugged. "At least you ask." He stood with his body hunched, gazing ruefully at the waters that rushed beneath their feet, his mind elsewhere. Loss and tragedy seemed to pervade this Castle. Link wondered if it was worth saving.

"It gets a little easier, you know," he said quietly. "The pain. Every day, a little less."

Inglis met his eyes, hope dancing on his features among the sorrow. "But you still love her, don't you?"

"Yeah," Link was surprised at the ease of the admission. Some things he could not fight. "But…it's not important. What's important is that we're _both_ getting out of here, Inglis. And then we'll go to Akkala together."

Inglis nodded, sullen eyes brightening somewhat as he smiled at the promise. And at that moment, atop the waterfall, with the morning gathering around them, Link knew it could not possibly be a lie.


	17. Rally

Dusk light shone off the banks of the Millenio Sandbar, and the air was filled with the songs of crickets and frogs in symphony. To the east, Lanayru Tower was a beacon against the steep cliffs and azure bluffs that would lead into Zora's Domain. To the west lay Hyrule Field, with its sweeping plains finally beginning to eek through the end-winter thaw. And further afield lay her old haunt - Hyrule Castle - where the lady had entered, and had never left.

At Goponga Village, Ambassador Larella stood on the precipice. Home was so close. She could almost see it through the trees. Half a day's walk would take her there. But when she looked down at her body - bare of jewels, scarred by fine blades and bruised by angry hands - the thought of returning home horrified her. They would laugh. They would shun her. _Stupid girl, getting caught! What abuse? What pain? It was all you, girl_.

 _I tried to be strong_ , she would say. _I survived what they did to me._

 _What for?_ The voices would ask.

To help, perhaps. She had helped the Shiekah duo escape, carrying them on her back down the Hylia river. _They_ had been a reason to survive. The old researcher had made time pass with the stories of his discoveries and his son Grante - once he had begun to speak again - had contentedly shared with her his travels throughout Hyrule and the strange spoils he had found. But now they were gone, back to their home, and nightfall found her weeping in the rain, huddled against the wall of a ruined hut, her trauma laid bare before her.

She could not go back. But where could she go?

 _The Castle_ , she thought. _You told Zelda you would be there for her_. No. She would never go back there. These wetlands were her home. The crickets that sang her gossipers. The lizalfos that prowled her neighbours. She could never let them see….

"Ho there! Funny! A Zora, all the way out here?" His voice made her jolt, muscles knotted and ready to flee. Another captor. But before she could move he was there before her, emerging out of the dark, adorned fin to fin in fine jewels, a long cloak hanging from his broad shoulders; a crimson-red Zora, tall, and proud, and regal.

"How did you even get here?" he asked, but Larella could not answer. All she could think was, _No! Not you!_

Her wits returned, and she leapt to her feet, stumbling as she attempted to curtsey. _Anyone but you!_

"P-Prince Sidon," she managed to say, struggling to regain her composure. "Or... or, King Sidon? Pardon Your Grace, I haven't been home since-"

"Wait…." The Prince took a step closer, amber eyes measuring her make. Larella flinched, wanting to draw away but pressed against the mossy wall. "...Ambassador Larella?"

Her lips parted in shock. She could not meet his gaze. "You remember me? But...I was just an attendant. Just a-"

"Of course! You're alive!" Sidon cheered. He took her hands into his. "Oh, how wonderful! You're alive!"

With a whimper, Larella snatched her hands away, and sprung from the wall, running to the bank of the island, overcome. He had seen her. Someone had seen her. Like this. _Like this!_ She wept and wept, not feeling the Prince's bewildered stare from behind her.

"What happened to you?" he whispered.

"Nothing," she sobbed. She willed him to leave her, and let her disappear, but soon the embrace of velvet enveloped her shoulders as the Prince carefully draped his cloak around her. Larella huddled it tight, shivering, aware of the cold for the first time since she had left the Castle.

"I just want to go home," she told him. Strength be damned. Judging eyes be damned. She wanted to feel marble beneath her feet. Hear the crash of the waterfalls. Cinelgen could take all of her but her home.

Sidon looked at her with solemn eyes that betrayed a sudden understanding. "Home then," he agreed, a measured hand at her back for no more than an instant. "Come. Home it is. Home is best."

* * *

Somehow, by some ancient magic, the winter did not reach the Korok Forest. Bountiful, swaying grass lined its winding pathways, flanked by fallen logs and drooping vines that seemed to disappear into the mists that hung above her head. Twisting branches arced overhead, shielding this place from the sun, and in some parts blocking it out all together. She caught glimpses of skittering bugs; fireflies in the twilight, grasshoppers between the blades, beetles clinging to the barks of the trees. And peeping out from the crevices and crags, from the between the leaves and behind the branches, the oaken bodies and expressionless masks of the Koroks greeted her with a muted reverence.

She heard their whispers, though she did not see their faces. _Princess_. _The Sword. She's here. They're here, once again!_

Zelda had come here to return the Master Sword. To leave it somewhere safe before her journey. After all, it was not hers. But the voice within had chosen to help her - had chosen to gift her its power to add to her own and cleanse Divine Beast Vah Medoh once, and for all. For that, all she could do was let it rest. But just as she was about to plunge the blade back into its pedestal, the booming voice spoke.

"I think perhaps, you need not do such a thing, Princess."

Zelda looked up at the sagely old tree with a smile. "Great Deku Tree - what a pleasure it is to see you again."

"All the more to you, Princess. You stand before me changed, but radiant as ever."

Indeed she was changed. In outfit and in spirit. _We have all changed, and the world with us_. Her time in Hebra had taught her that much; bringing the realisation, and the shame, that she had cruelly accosted Link for the inevitable - that he was _different_ , as if he could ever be the same.

Zelda looked back up to the Deku Tree, and its ancient face carved into the rough bark. "I don't understand. Did you say I should not leave the Sword here?"

When the Tree spoke, it felt as though the entire forest shook. "Indeed, the Sword would be safe in this place. But as with all of us, it has a purpose. It must be returned to him. You are going to free him, are you not? Would it not be safest kept with you, Princess?"

"But I am not its wielder. I shouldn't even be carrying it," she tried to protest.

"Perhaps not. But you have proven yourself capable of such a task. And I cannot help but notice the crest on your hand," the Tree spoke with a great warmth. "It is good to see the power used to its full potential."

Zelda raised her right hand, removing her glove to gaze upon the glow of the Royal Crest. "Yes, indeed. It has been the utmost help," she chuckled them, thinking on all the ridiculous feats this _power_ had enabled her to do. "And strangely, I still have no idea where it came from, or what it is."

The Deku Tree paused as if in thought. Zelda noticed the Koroks gathering around her, appearing one by one from their hiding places.

"There is a legend, Princess," the Deku finally said. "Passed down from tree, to tree, and whispered by the children of the forest, the Koroks who stand before you. It speaks of three golden goddesses who shaped the very land you understand today to be Hyrule,"

"I know of this," Zelda murmured. "I was taught it as a girl."

"I would presume then, that you have not heard the rest. Stay, and listen child, to the legend of this land."

Zelda knelt by the pedestal, laying the Master Sword across her lap. Around her, the Koroks formed an audience by the Deku Tree. Together, they sat, and listened.

"When the goddesses departed Hyrule, they left a supreme power to give hope to the mortals of the land. This power represented the virtues of the Goddesses; the courage of an unbreakable spirit, the wisdom to lead with a guiding hand, and the power to rule over all. In times past this power has been split, to be wielded by those who most embodied these three virtues. During these times, the Princess possessed the virtue of wisdom, and Hero the virtue of courage, and a powerful being the virtue of power. But on your hand…"

Zelda looked at the Royal Crest once more, pulsating on the back of her palm. It was a permanent glow now – she could not quieten it.

"Have you considered, Princess, what it means to possess all three?"

"All...three?" The three triangles on her hand. The three triangles of the crest of Hyrule. The three engraved into the sacred grounds. And then, Medoh's words... _the Three._

"A great power resides within you," The Deku Tree said. "Hyrule requires that you master it. Your battles are not yet done."

Zelda nodded, returning the Master Sword to its scabbard. "I will. Link and I will end this together. And when I return….it will be with him. I swear it"

"And I have faith you will," the Tree seemed to smile then. "But before you go, Princess. I cannot help but notice the clothes that you now wear. Rito feathers, and Rito rubies,"

"Yes, well, I spent some time with them..." Zelda admitted, fingers twirling through a lock of braided hair.

"There are more legends than either of us have time to speak of, but I will share but one more. A rumour of a chosen people and their winged companions. Such a tradition is lost...but to those of the Royal Family...to those with the blood of the Goddess. It is good to see this tradition live on."

"I...I don't know what you speak of."

"The Koroks see all from their hidden places, and they see true. They see the love you have for that warrior. And for his people."

" _Teba!?_ I-"

The Deku Tree continued on, calmly assuring her. "Love is like the sun, Princess. It shines in many different ways. Hot and bright, subdued by clouds, or clear and crisp through a winter's morning. What matters is that it is there at all. For all will die without it."

The words haunted her as she made the trip out of the Lost Woods. She would have teleported, but Zelda found she needed time to clear her head. Hyrule Castle greeted her just across the river when she arrived at the Rauru Hillside. It was not safe to walk alone; begrudgingly, she pulled out her Slate, locating Sha Wavo shrine on the map.

Teba and his family were already waiting for her at the Flight Range. The warrior was sitting by the ravine and working on a bow, adjusting one of the gears. Tulin was asleep by the fire, while Saki prepared a stew in the pot.

Teba didn't greet her as she sat down. "Why did you hold onto it?"

"The Tree told me to keep it."

"Good," Teba grinned. "I'm glad he did."

Zelda frowned at him. "Another bet against me?"

He laughed – a low rumble, now familiar. "It's a fine blade. Only the strong can hold something like that. I knew he'd tell you to hold on to it." Teba shook his head. "Even if I had, Princess, I wouldn't bet against you. I would bet _for_ you."

Zelda smiled to herself, or perhaps in spite of herself. The Tree had been right. "I'm glad I'm back," she said.

"Nah," the warrior teased, the slightest hint of sadness in the words. "You aren't gonna miss _this_ place. Not as cold down there on that field."

 _But I will,_ she thought. Lake Totori was an island at the centre of a stormy sea, an oasis in a blazing desert. She wasn't the Princess here, at least not in anything more than name. She was just a girl, with a bow, a keen eye and a mentor whose people had become kin.

"Oh, I got what you ordered," Teba suddenly said, handing her the large parcel that lay in his lap.

Excitedly, Zelda took the parcel in hand and began to unravel the string. She giggled with delight as the hessian fell away to reveal two, brand new, custom made paragliders. One in red and white, and the other in white and blue.

"Perfect!" he beamed. Link's paraglider had been lost somewhere in Hyrule Castle, forgotten when they had been captured. This would be the perfect coming home gift.

"One for you?" Teba inquired, and Zelda nodded, "I've always wanted to try."

The warrior picked up his bow, and with some struggle he stood from the edge of the platform. With an open wing he pointed towards the ravine, he said, "Go on then. You have your wings after all."

Her first instinct was to protest. But then she caught a glimpse of the crest on her hand. _I hold the Three_ , she told herself. _I have nothing to fear_.

She handed Teba the blue paraglider, and took her own in hand. Three breathless strides took her out and over the ravine, where the updrafts caught the fabric of her paraglider and launched her high into the air. She screamed, from delight or terror, it didn't matter. The winds kept her afloat, and if she fell, the power would keep her safe.

Soon Teba, and then Tulin had joined her, while Saki watched contently from the platform, occasionally calling out for them all to be careful.

They ducked and swooped, soaring until Zelda's arms were so tired that she had no choice but to retire to the Flight Range, her breath ragged and her face wind-swept. But she could not stop smiling, no matter how much her muscles now ached. And adding to the joy, when she and the Rito were happily tucking into their stew, the colourful Rito bard finally made his return.

"Well, hello there, Princess," Kass said warmly as he landed on the platform. He looked to Teba, who was sitting by Zelda's side. "Am I owed some money, then?"

* * *

 _His heart won't stop, as much as he commands it to. Thump. Thump. Thump. And he's by the sea when he sees her, the blood in his ears having become the roaring ocean._

 _Porcelain skin. Eyes of stained glass. The red of her open lips. Tears on the cobblestones._

 _Her voice is a song. Her form divine. A Princess of truest kind. 'I'm sorry to drag you out here with me...this must not be very interesting for you.'_

 _I go where you go, he wants to say. I want to be where you are._

 _But he cannot. There are binds around his hands. A gold and purple rope, etched in a diamond-shaped lattice. He pulls and feels the sting. Hot breath on his neck._ _You just aren't enough, it says._

 _The Princess fades. 'I understand. Your duty precludes your free will, at least until this is done.'_

 _He thrashes against the binds, his skin ripped raw._

' _You called it a burden,' the Princess says. 'You needn't_ _keep anything_ _from me.'_

 _Anything but a burden. A burden in its entirety. Bound and unbound. Free in captivity at last. What does he want? What did he want? Is it her?_

 _He reaches out and catches air. The Princess has turned from him._

' _Just promise you won't forget me - or us,' she says. 'But I can't read your mind, can I?'_

 _And then she's gone, evaporating as a jolt shoots up from his foot, through his legs, to his open eyes…_

Inglis was above him, gently kicking the sole of his boot. "No rest for the wicked," he drawled. _You're not a Princess_ , Link thought as he squinted up at the Akkalan boy, the last of the dream still receding. There was someone standing in his shadow. Link caught a glimpse of golden hair and knew; _Aurelia._

He shot up, running a hand through his hair to shake free the dirt of the cell floor _._ It was morning still, singular columns of light streaming through the high-set windows of the Lockup cells, catching the dust and dirt that clung to the damp air.

He had been here for a week or so since freeing the other prisoners. Thankfully, Cinelgen was too distracted by the notion that Zelda was in Hebra to devote much of his time to Link, and the elusive _code_. After the spectacle that was the Cleansing of Vah Medoh, all of Hyrule must now know where the Princess was.

According to Inglis, Cinelgen had sent scouts to Hebra - though none of them had yet returned - and had apparently dedicated all of the resources he could to finding her, bar going there himself. He hadn't even had time to assign new guards to the Lockup. Not that he even could. Word of Link's massacre spread quickly through the Castle, and none of the Successors now dared venture down to the cells. Inglis and Link were free to plan their escape - so long as Cinelgen did not find out.

"He keeps the diamond in his study," the Akkalan had explained when they debated how to free Rhoamet.

"And I have no idea how long I'll need to fit it," Link had sighed, fingers tracing the eyepieces of the goggles Robbie had left him. They would certainly be a help, but with no practice in repairing his Guardian proper, Link could not risk an attempt until his captor departed the Castle; something Inglis had been actively working on. But by his own admission, Inglis was little more than Cinelgen's squire. "And Knights never concern themselves with the cares of those underfoot," Inglis had lamented. _Only bad ones_ , Link had wanted to tell him.

It seemed that they had soon hit a dead end, though now the Akkalan had brought a new face to their meeting. Aurelia stood with the right side of her face turned away, a thin scowl slicing her white skin, and a wide bandage wrapped around her face.

"What are you doing here?" Link asked, the question directed more at the Yiga woman than Inglis.

"Aury wanted to talk to you," Inglis explained. "And I have news."

"News?"

Inglis nodded, squatting low on the dirt floor, but Aurelia pushed him aside, and knelt before he could speak. Link nearly gasped at the sight of her. The bandages crossed over the right side of her face, leaving only the left, icy-blue iris staring menacingly out from beneath the cotton. _Her eye_ , he remembered. _Rhoamet took out one of her eyes, and destroyed half of her face._

"Aurelia," he breathed. "I'm sorry. I should have-"

Her voice was harsh. Devoid of any patience. She held up a hand and said, "No. Don't apologise. Cinelgen is to blame. He provoked Rhoamet by hurting you."

Just as before, Link could not look away. Her shimmering eye would have been beautiful if it were not so full of hate. "Why are you here?" he questioned.

"The Yiga have had their fill of this _Chief_ ," Aurealia spat the title, and licked her lips as if it left a bad aftertaste. "I want you to know that I am on your side. I always have been, in a way."

Link's mind flickered back to that night by the fire, when she had come to him with little more than a robe and a proposition. "Is that why…?" he said slowly.

What Link could see of Aurelia's pale cheeks filled with a knowing smile. "What better way than to secure allegiance," she chuckled. "But I forgot how loyal you are, and _who_ you are. How can the Hero of Hyrule ally with a Yiga?"

He wasn't sure if she was truly waiting for an answer. Could she be trusted? He looked to Inglis and saw the boy's usual, passive plainness of face. It gave nothing, and neither did Aurelia's singular, piercing eye.

All Link could do was shake his head and say, "Who knows."

Aurelia's smile widened. "Perhaps this is how we find out, Champion. Change is coming. With my help, there has been progress." She grabbed Inglis by the shoulder and gave it a friendly shake. "Hylia knows this one won't get you far."

"Oh, piss off," Inglis groaned, shoving her off of him. Aury clapped him on the back, and winked at Link as she stood to retreat to the far side of the cell. Even now her vibrance excited him, Link realised, feeling immediately guilty. His loneliness had come for him at last, it seemed. And the Princess in his dreams made the wanting stronger.

Link pried his eyes away and looked to Inglis. "Your news?"

The Akkalan spoke slowly, each word a hesitation, a sorrowful scowl on his face, as if ready to catch Link's reaction. "A Rito woman arrived this morning. They have Zelda in custody, as well someone named Teba. She made him pilot of Vah Medoh, apparently."

 _Teba!_ Link was glad to hear the name. He met Inglis' downcast eyes with a grin. "It's a lie," he said triumphantly. "It must be. Unless they put her in captivity with my sword."

Inglis cocked his head to the side, his frown pressed deep against his features. Aurelia too was bemused, looking down her nose at them furrowed brow.

"The Master Sword," Link explained. "I can feel her near it. She's not in custody. Whatever is happening, the Rito are lying to Cinelgen."

"Are you sure?" Inglis pressed. "Why would they lie?"

"Ah - to throw Cinna off her trail," Aurelia offered, smiling at the notion. "He will go to Hebra and find that she isn't there."

Inglis did not seem convinced. "Then where would she be?" He gave Link an expectant look.

"I don't know," Link said defensively. "If she has the Slate, she could be anywhere. But I trust that she is safe."

"And we're in luck, thanks to me," Aurelia gloated, throwing her hands open as if expecting applause. "He leaves for Hebra on the morrow. I suggested to Cinelgen that he go there himself. Not to waste more time with scouts who get themselves killed in the wilderness."

"Wait - you did that knowing she was in custody?"

Aurelia looked at him innocently, the strength in her eye never faltering. "I said I was on your side, Champion. Not hers. You needed Cinna out of this Castle and I achieved that for you."

Link crossed his arms at his chest, vexed by Aurelia's dismissal. "If you are on my side, you're on _hers_ too."

The Yiga woman was not phased. "There's no need for anger. As it turns out, she will be fine. So you needn't worry."

"Cinna will be gone a week at least, or two." Inglis said, redirecting the conversation back to the issue at hand. "I'll get that diamond for you tomorrow then, we can head to the Gatehouse now to check on Rhoamet if you want."

"No," Link shook his head. "There's a question I need answered before we go."

Both Inglis and Aurelia raised their eyebrows at him. "And what's that?" the Yiga woman challenged.

The questions that had plagued him; w _hat did I do? What did I say_? But more than that. The first question, the one he knew he was close to answering. "Do I really remember her?" he said.

* * *

Kass brought little good news. Both Zora's Domain and Gerudo Town shut down. Both Sidon and Buliara out of his reach. And a siege underway at the Geldarm Bridge, with further news of fighting along the roads. They could dawdle no longer - and set about enacting their plan to rally their allies. Saki would fly east toward Hyrule Castle to treat with Cinelgen. Zelda would travel even _further_ east towards Lanayru, and then south to Gerudo, to find what had become of her allies and convince them to help her rescue Link. Teba would remain to protect Vah Medoh, and to prepare the Rito for the assault. Simple in theory, but not so much in execution.

Teba saw Saki and Zelda from the Flight Range. He paced along the planks, his head held high and his beak clenched tight. The picture of collected calm - though Zelda knew the truth. "You both have three days," Teba told them. "After that I am coming to find you."

"Let the little Sparrow spread her wings, Teba," Saki chided. "If she is brave enough to do this alone, then she must be strong enough too."

The old warrior grumbled, but under Saki's deftly persuasive eye he could do nothing but concede. "Three days," he repeated sternly, though now he was smiling, a small simper that said, _you'll be fine._

"I'll be back in as much as two," Saki promised. Zelda wished she had their confidence. With the Slate in hand and Hyrule before her, she felt neither brave nor strong, and certainly not wise at the prospect of travelling so far on her own. But as she rolled her shoulders, the wings on her coat rising and falling, she remembered; _Link is waiting_.

"I'm ready," she said, and the Rito returned her words with a pair of steadfast nods.

The trio exchange one last look as Zelda activated the teleport function on the Shiekah Slate. Hebra dissolved into light around her, and just before she closed her eyes, she saw Teba give her a curt, salute-like wave; _you'll be fine, we'll see you soon_.

Sparkling brilliance met her as Zelda re-opened her eyes, the splendour almost garish after so much time in the wastes of Hebra. Pale marble filled her vision, as did the gentle rush of running water and the hurtling rage of crashing waterfalls. Before her were a broad flight of stairs, leading up to an unseen courtyard beyond. She heard chatter, and laughter; the squeals of children and the sound of a hammer against metal. _Zora's Domain_. It had been _months_ since she had been here. She had done so much since then. Become so much. Zelda took a deep breath, and climbed the stairs to the plaza.

* * *

" _A Hylian! There's a Hylian! There's been a breach!_ "

It was not quite the reception Zelda had expected. She had not been waiting for warm embraces and wide smiles, but she did not think there would be so much _screaming_.

All-chaos erupted into the plaza of Zora's Domain the moment Zelda reached the top of the stairs. Those that did not stumble away in shock pointed and shrilled for _a guard, any guard_ , to take her away. And a duo of Zora Warriors had begun to advance on her when _finally_ , she was recognised.

"Princess? Zelda?" the woman gasped, clapping a webbed hand to her mouth. She pulled Zelda into the inn and out of sight. "What are you doing here? Why do you have Link's sword?"

"Where is Sidon?" Zelda demanded, not bothering with pleasantries. It was only after she spoke that she remembered who the soft-faced Zora was; Luna, the excitable woman who had roped Zelda into the _Prince Sidon Fan Club_. Auspicious then, that this is who she would run into.

"I...I'm not sure!" Luna answered, the shock never leaving her features. "With Vah Ruta, perhaps? He spends most of his time there now."

"Aye, and with that _woman_ of his," spat the innkeeper from his desk. There was no time to question. Zelda thanked Luna for her help, wished her well, and pulled out the Sheikah Slate to continue on.

* * *

She materialised on Vah Ruta's travel gate to see the broad vista of the Eastern Reservoir before her, its waters so still they seemed like glass. Two Zora, sitting with their legs over the precipice of the platform, immediately turned, springing to their feet to meet her.

"Zelda!" they cheered in unison, before she had the time to even recognise them. But when she did, Zelda felt as though her heart might burst.

"Larella!" she cried, running forward to greet them. "Sidon!"

The Ambassador caught her first, sweeping her into a tight embrace. Sidon's powerful arm around her shoulder came next, nearly squeezing the air out of her. Her cheeks ached from the breadth of her smile, and her laughter echoed out across the reservoir, skipping clean across the still waters. "What are you doing here?!" Zelda finally managed, taking the Ambassador's hands into her own. "I thought you were at the Castle!"

"I was - oh I was," Larella exhaled, a flash of regret on her face. "But Link! He freed me, Zelda!"

Hearing his name almost knocked the air from her once more. " _Link is alive_?"

Larella was positively beaming, the happiest Zelda had ever seen her. "Yes! Oh yes! You should have seen him. You should have seen what he's done! Oh, but I cannot spoil it for you. Just know that he is alive and well, at the Castle still, and that he is stronger than he has ever been!"

The news almost broke her. She brought her hands to her face, unable to stop the stream of joyous tears. _You're alive! We're both alive!_ The Zora could do nothing but watch as she puddled to the ground, unable to speak from the rapturous glee. "Larella," Zelda beamed up at the Ambassador. "Thank you...thank you so much…"

Sidon and Larella knelt by her side as she regained herself. She murmured her apologies and wiping away her tears. "King Sidon-" Zelda eventually said.

"No…." he cut her off, his shining eyes drooping low. "I am not the King. Not yet."

Another shock, but quickly explained. The Zora recounted the unfortunate business with Muzu and the Council, and how they were working to overturn the decision.

"Help me them," Zelda said once they were done. "The Rito and I are planning an assault on the Castle. If we uproot Cinelgen, we can end the conflict and restore your throne."

Sidon and Larella pondered her words for a long moment, and Zelda steeled herself for their rejection. But then, after seeking silent approval from Larella, Sidon clapped his hands together and said with a toothy grin, "Of course! Anything to help Link. I still have friends here, and Larella has been trying to gather support for me. I will bring as many warriors as I can."

Zelda breathed an inward sigh of relief and held out a hand to the Prince. "Meet me at the Sacred Grounds. No later than two weeks from today."

"With pleasure, my lady," Sidon said, and shook her hand with vigour.

One down. No time to waste. Zelda reached for her Sheikah Slate once more, now with the desert in her sights.

* * *

If Zora's Domain was a shock to the senses, then the Gerudo Desert was nothing short of an onslaught.

The ferocious heat hit her in a wave as she materialised at Daqo Chisay Shrine outside the walls of Gerudo town, the sun above and searing sands before her near blinding. As with the Korok Forest, winter did not come for Gerudo, it seemed, and her Rito coat was useless here. Taking a moment to stow it within the Sheikah Slate, Zelda made for the gates of Gerudo Town.

"No entry," barked the two guardswomen, crossing their spears in front of the archway that lead into town.

Just as Kass hard warned; Gerudo Town was closed. And while the Domain had a Shrine within its walls, this place did not. Zelda stood straighter, and recited the words as she had practiced them, "My name is Princess Zelda Hyrule. I need to speak with Lady Riju. She will know my name."

The guardswomen glared at her from underneath their veils, statuesque and unmoving. "Your identity does not matter," one said. "No one enters or leaves who is not Gerudo. _Including_ vai."

Zelda struggled to maintain her composure. "Please, I am a friend of the Chief."

"The Chief is not here," the woman countered. She stepped forward, and placed a firm hand at Zelda's shoulder, shoving her backwards. "You will leave!"

"Where is Riju, then?" Zelda demanded, wrenching herself from the guardswoman's grip. "I only wish to speak to her!"

She felt the woman's indignation, even under the heat. "Begone, vai. Before we drag you from this desert ourselves!"

Zelda reigned in her anger, recognising then the paranoia that pervaded these guardswomen. The guard gave her another shove, "Go!"

"Enough, Mira!" came the call from behind, and both of the guardswomen stood to attention in an instant. And emerging from within the city walls, now dressed in the full regalia of a Royal bodyguard, Buliara stepped out into the sun. "Princess," she said, bowing her head. "What a surprise."

"Buliara," Zelda returned the gesture. "Where is Riju? What is happening at the Bridge?"

The bodyguard sighed, and cast her gaze across the harsh sands, crows feet gripping the corners of her eyes as she surveyed the desert with a scowl. "It will be easier to show you."

* * *

 _This is where the war is_ , Zelda knew as she looked upon the siege. _This is where it must end_.

After a precarious ride through the desert by sand seal, and half a day's walk through the Gerudo Canyon, Buliara led Zelda down to the front lines of the Gerudo defense at the Geldarm Bridge. The Zora camp was enormous, perhaps fifty strong, with a dozen manning the entrance to the bridge and the rest either guarding its flank, or having pressed onto the crossing itself. They had settled in for the winter, their camp tucked in under the shadow of the Great Plateau.

The Gerudo side was only half a large, but they manned their side of the bridge as best they could. Guardswomen came and went, carrying weapons and crates, full of supplies and provisions by the wagon. Riju herself was stood with her soldiers, her unbraided hair shifting under the breeze, snowflakes falling on her crown like icing dust. She was taller now too, almost as tall as Zelda, and her face had grown hard. Duty had robbed her of her youth, but not her courtesies. She bowed low as Zelda approached.

"Princess," she said. "We saw your efforts in the west with Vah Medoh. It is good that you return. Is Link with you?"

"No. That is why I'm here." Zelda answered. She turned to look across the bridge. "How long has this been going on?"

"They have been here for almost a month," Buliara explained.

"Every day they inch closer." Riju added. "They demand my head. What I would do to give them Cinelgens."

"Then come with me. Help me fight him," Patiently, Zelda began to explain the situation; where Link was, her plan with the Rito, how she already had the support of Sidon and Larella, and how she now believed that this siege was not Sidon's work.

Riju frowned at the mention of the aquatic race. "I would rather not work with Zora, but if it means destroying Cinelgen, and if you trust Sidon…"

"I do."

The Gerudo Chief cast her bodyguard a questioning glance. Buliara nodded, and Riju exhaled, the decision made, "Then...we are by your side. We cannot spare many. Tell us where to meet you, and we will be there."

Two down. Zelda sealed the alliance with another handshake, and turned once more to her Sheikah Slate. On the map, she found the Shrine by the Flight Range, thinking of the first time she had arrived there. She had arrived alone, with no allies, lost and afraid. And now Hyrule was at her back, just like the Sword. _You won't believe it's me_ , Zelda decided. _You won't even recognise me._

* * *

Time had taken the splendour and beauty of Hyrule Castle Gardens and turned it into little more than a barren waste. Link only knew it had been here from instinct, from the pieces of memory that he could muster. It was tucked away on the northern slope of the Castle, near the Royal Apartments, where it would sit in the sun all day long. Once, it had been shielded from the weather by a border of high hedges and stone. Now the stone walls were ruined, and the hedges - like the rest of the garden - were dead, and the empty courtyard was battered by the rough winds that blew off of the Hylia River.

Inglis and Aurelia had begrudgingly brought Link to this desolate place, and they paced the length of the garden together, their voices barely any louder than the winds as they chatted amongst themselves.

Link closed his eyes and tried to focus. Tried to latch on to the long spines of memory that he felt tingling against his neck. _A red rose. A crying Princess_. He could feel her with the Sword. He could hear her voice. _Just promise you won't forget me - or us. But I can't read your mind, can I?_

It didn't make sense. The words didn't fit together, they were discordant, competing. If anything it was almost as if there were...two voices.

Link's eyes snapped open. Two voices. The wind changed direction, whipping his hair about his face. He was so close. It was almost there. Two voices. Two Princesses.

 _Mipha?_ A cry from across the courtyard broke his concentration.

"Link!" Inglis was waving him over. "Come look at this."

Resigning, Link jogged over to where his friends stood, both gaping up at something tucked amongst the dead shrubbery. When he saw what they had found, his mouth fell open.

There it was. Somehow still alive. Or perhaps born anew. A single, red rose, clinging to life, isolated from the rest of the dying bush. Crimson as blood, starkly beautiful - a shock of colour in this dead place.

Link closed his eyes as the memory come back in full.

* * *

 _Rising out of the rose bush within Hyrule Castle gardens was a single, thornless red flower. Link held his hand up to it, gently running his fingertips over the petals. Why is it bereft of thorns? he wondered, distracting his mind from the sorrow that the crimson hue brought him_

 _Zelda gave him the answer, though she did not know it. "So much work goes into these flowers," she sighed. "They would die if left alone. It's a little sad, really."_

 _Ah. This rose is dying. Softened and sundered by time._

 _Time has softened the Princess too, Link thought as he caught the sight of Zelda in his periphery – a burst of sullen blues and gold subdued in her royal regalia, pondering a cluster of white orchids. A few weeks ago it seemed that she wanted nothing but the absence of her Appointed Knight,_ _but over time her disdain faded. They had begun to talk. He had begun to share parts of himself with her, and her the same._ _T_ _oday she had requested that Link escort her around the grounds of the Castle. Somehow they had ended up in the gardens, watching idly as the flowers bloomed. Link could not complain; he liked the Princess'_ _s_ _company. And he liked the sway of her hair and the sweetness in her voice and…_

 _He didn't let his mind wander further. He wasn't allowed to feel anything for the Princess. Not this one, at least. No more than he would feel for a rose in the garden; something to admire, but not something to ever truly know. And he shouldn't…not after…_

 _His mouth betrayed him. "Do you like the garden?" he asked, wanting to hear her voice._

" _Not really," the Princess admitted, drawing herself away from the orchids and moving to his side. "What about you?"_

 _Link looked back to the wilting rose. "I think I'd have been a terrible gardener."_

 _Her lips curled into a smile, and she laughed: a small victory. "Why is that?"_

" _Gardening is waiting," Link explained. "Soldiers don't like to wait."_

 _Zelda furrowed her brows, eyes fixed on the rose. At his side, Link could feel the back of her hand grazing his. He chanced a look in her direction. Had she noticed? "This mustn't be very interesting for you," she said. "I should apologise for dragging you here."_

" _I go where I'm told," Link shrugged, though he didn't mind it so much now._

 _Zelda's face fell. "… you called it a burden. When you spoke of being chosen…"_

" _No," Link blurted out, stunned by his defiance. Anything but a burden. The only thing that wasn't, he'd found._

 _Their eyes met – a silent standoff. Zelda smiled, and around them the sky seemed a little brighter, but Link could not return her radiance. His guts churned. This wasn't right. He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't_ like _this as much as he did. He turned away, feigning the need to keep watch._

" _I'm sorry. You can talk to me," Zelda called to him. "It helped you know, when you told me how you felt about...your appointment. I didn't feel so alone anymore." She was at his side then, a hand on his arm. "But...I can't read your mind, can I? If anything troubles you, if there's anything you're thinking about. Oh I'm sorry, I'm rambling. I know you can't talk to me the way you would Mi-"_

" _I called it off_ _,_ _"_ _Link_ _said suddenly. "I told her I wanted to wait until...this was all over."_

 _Zelda sprang away from him, her hand lifting from his arm, and where she had touched him he felt his skin burn. "Mipha? W-why?" she murmured._

" _Sorry. I shouldn't have said. That's just….that's what I was thinking about_ _,_ _"_ _he kept his gaze fixed on the Gardens entrance, as if anything could threaten them there._

 _When he turned back to the Princess, she was crying, her tears rolling down her cheeks, and finding the cobblestones below. "So much chaos," she whispered. "All because of this stupid Calamity Ganon, that no one even knows truly exists!" Link opened his mouth to speak, to apologise again, but a voice rang out behind him, high and sweet - the shrill voice of the Royal bard, the Sheikah named Lexo. Link grimaced - he was not overly fond of the bard. But Lexo would sing a song for her, he knew. He would cheer her, in ways that Link could not. He fell in at Zelda's side as the Princess hurriedly wiped away her tears._

* * *

The faces of his Hylian companions greeted him when he came to. "You okay? You just kind of...went away, for a bit there." Inglis had a hand at his shoulder, shaking him gently from the reverie, while Aurelia regarded him with silent concern.

"I remember," Link said breathlessly. "I remember!"

The two Hylians exchanged a confused look. "I don't understand," Inglis said.

Link's hand went to his mouth as he remembered the rest. "I called it off….Goddess. I called it off!"

"What are you _talking_ about?"Aurelia urged.

He'd been right. There were two voices. _Two_ memories. The second one came in pulses.

"We were sitting at Vah Ruta," Link began to recount to them. "I couldn't separate the second memory out because I'd done it so many times. All those afternoons when she healed me...and this was the last."

Sitting atop Vah Ruta. Together on the elephant colossus' trunk. The afternoon ending. He had caught Mipha by the arm and said, _Before you go, I've been thinking_... _perhaps we should…put a hold on things for now_.

He felt as though he could be floating, or falling, the horror thrumming through his veins. "I was confused," he muttered. "Because of Zelda….I cared about her and I was confused….so I…"

Mipha's voice rang in his ears, the memory unrelenting. Poised and restrained, as always. But now with sorrow intertwined in with the grace. _I understand, your duty precludes your free will, at least until this is done._ She had said it like a farewell. _You needn't keep anything from me._ _You'll do good by the Princess, I know you will. Just promise not to forget me, or us, Link. The Domain will always be your home._

Inglis shook him again. "What are you talking about?"

"I called it off, Inglis! I ended it with her!" Link cried. The question he'd been asking himself for months; _what did I do? What did I say, that she won't leave me be_? Well know he knew.

"Who? I don't-"

"Her name was Mipha. She was my oldest friend and I…" the words came out as a sob. "I broke her heart. All because I was confused…." _All because of you_. "We were all so confused, the Champions, Zelda, all of us. That can't happen again!" He was frantic then, gripping Inglis' arms and shaking him in return. "Not this time!"

"Okay, okay," Aurelia pried them apart, her stern voice diffusing Link's hysteria. "We have a plan, remember? We can start whenever you're ready. None of us here, _now_ , are confused about a thing!"

Link relinquished his grip on Inglis. Aurelia was right. One hundred years ago he had made a mistake – a stupid, ridiculous mistake. But that time was gone. He was here, alive, right now. And Zelda was waiting.

He knew what to do. He turned from the garden, leaving this part of his past behind, "I just have one last place I need to go," Link said, and made for the Royal Apartments.

* * *

The study was just as he had left it. Crumbling, like the rest of the Castle, and a glowing Silent Princess arising out of the rubble.

He had told Inglis that there could be notes here that would help with installing Rhoamet's diamond, but it had been a lie. He simply wanted to see Zelda's study before their work truly began. Link knelt beside it, cradling the petals in his fingers. A single flower, rising out of the corruption and decay that had become Hyrule. _It's as strong as you are_ , he thought.

"Hey there, Zel," he said to the flower. "How are you going? You doing okay? What'd I once tell you? _I'm okay if you're okay_."

Link sat down against the wall where the flower was blooming. He rested his heads against the bricks, feeling light-headed from the memories that swam in his mind. His shoulder was throbbing; it had never fully healed. "I dunno if that's true," he went on, eyes fixed on the luminous flower. "You could be just fine and I'd still be here without you."

He wanted to pluck the flower then. Make it his. _But that's how you kill it_.

"You probably won't recognise me when you see me. You'll think I'm someone else," And then, a little petulantly. "But you already do, don't you? Well I'm sorry I'm not him. I know you loved him, and I know you wanted him to love you. I know it was him you wanted to kiss by the river. But he died along with the rest of Hyrule."

The flower gave nothing back but a diffuse glow.

"But I remembered something. In the Garden. One thing that never changed. I've always cared about you. I wonder if…if I had said something, all those years go, you would have figured out your power earlier. And since I woke up...all I ever wanted was _you_. I didn't even know you. I just knew you mattered. And I was so afraid of you those first months after we defeated Ganon, you know that Zel? Terrified of you. And so...confused. But I think I'm getting better. I remembered what happened with Mipha, you know? I really fucked up there. I shouldn't swear but it's true. You should have told me how stupid I was, to do that to her. I can almost hear your voice, I can hear you chastising me…"

He was weeping then, though he did not know it. He couldn't say the rest out loud, he could barely think it. Only feel it. _I miss you_. _Every single thing about you._

Link raised a hand to his shoulder, and for the first time in months, felt the power flow. Under the glow of the Silent Princess, with the gift of the Princess he had scorned, his shoulder was soon healed in full, and he felt stronger than he had in weeks.

"I gotta go. Rhoamet doesn't like being left alone," Link ran his fingers across the petals one last time, and got to his feet. "I'll see you soon, Zelda. I know I will."

* * *

The thaw had come at last. The snow clouds broke, and the tepid light of the gathering Spring finally shone upon Hyrule. Zelda wore her Rito coat still, not content to part with it now, along with the Master Sword at her back, and the Rito paraglider at her belt.

She listed off the facts like reciting a poem. Sidon and Riju would meet them with their retinue at the Sacred Grounds. Teba would take the Rito in Vah Medoh. Zelda would teleport into Central Hyrule with the Shiekah Slate.

And adding to their growing army was the most unexpected of additions; a party of Gorons, outfitted for war, led by a youth wearing a Champion's scarf and introducing himself meekly as Yunobo. They had arrived a few days after she returned to Lake Totori - barely more than half a dozen, but all brandishing enormous claymores and thumping their chests enthusiastically at the mention the brawl that would be the assault on Hyrule Castle.

"Link sent you?" Zelda confirmed with Yunobo, confused as to how he could have reached Eldin.

Yunobo nodded, "The boss wants nothing to do with this fighting, but….I couldn't just do nothing! Link needs our help! I brought some friends, as many as I could. I'm sorry it isn't much, but we will do our best to help!" He crossed a fist at his heart, and his Goron brothers repeated the gesture.

Zora. Rito. Gerudo. Gorons. All of Hyrule was ready to fight.

Saki had returned not long after. Her own mission had been a success, much to Teba's relief. And scouts soon spotted the party to the east. Cinelgen, and the Yiga woman named Milagre, and half a dozen of the bandits in their neckerchiefs, travelling on horse towards Hebra.

"If we move now, we could beat him back to the Castle," Teba surmised.

"Take it right out from underneath him," Zelda agreed. She grinned hungrily. "Just like he did to me."

As with so many times before, they stood together on Revali's Landing, Hyrule Castle shimmering in the far distance. It was happening, she realised. They had everything they needed. _I hope you're ready, Cinelgen_ , she thought as she gazed across Hyrule, gripping the railing so hard that she began to shake.

"Hold nothing back, Teba," she told the Rito warrior beside her. "I want there to be nothing of him left."

And in her conviction, in her fury, she did not see; the way Teba trembled, and the apprehension in his voice. "Of course," he said, brows drawn with concern.

Zelda gave the Castle one last look, and took one last deep breath to steel herself. "Time to go home," she said.

* * *

 **A/N: Ch 18 will be up in about a week, as I'm returning to weekly updates for the last 6 chapters of this fic. The end is near! Can you believe it?**


	18. Takeback

Part Four: Ascension

 _The scout's face is a stony grey and his lips are almost as blue as the fabric around his neck. He froze to death, someone suggests. He ran out of food, says another. Wishful words; the truth is soaking his tunic just above his gut. An arrow juts from his chest, snapped to try to hide the attack._

 _The Gerudo Chief glares down at his underlings and they scatter like ants under a boot; he's been murdered, he barks. The Yiga Secretary looks on in silence, grey eyes gleaming out from between bark-brown locks._

 _At the edge of Hebra, where the tundra has permanence, where the snow is always falling somewhere; this is where the murdered man lays. His eyes are open; one of his former compatriots closes them. A fallen brother. One less Successor._

 _And then they all see; there are feathers at his feet. Scattered by the wind but clinging to the mud on his boots. The assailant was Rito; their informant lied._

 _The Chief and the Secretary exchange a glance as heavy as granite. The realisation sinks between them. They've been caught by a trap so simple they didn't even see it. And struggling to maintain composure, twitching against the panic, they mouth two words in unison._

 _Oh, fuck._

* * *

The air in the Hyrule Castle Docks was warm and brackish, as beyond, dawn began to encroach on the starless sky. Aurelia with her white-gold hair and off-white bandages stood on the edge of one of the rotting jetties, silhouetted by the dawn break, cutting a lean and lithe figure that betrayed no hint of doubt or apprehension. Stance a little wide. Hands tense. Ready to move; to act. _She could have been a Knight_ , Link thought.

But now she was leaving. Link caught the disappointment on Inglis' face when she had told them, and realised that it was mirrored on his own. Aurelia of Karusa Valley laughed loud and drank hard, and was a burst of brightness and wit against the decay of Hyrule Castle. The lingering awkwardness between them had disappeared with her right eye, as had her allegiance to Cinelgen. For the past two days she had helped Link and Inglis coax Rhoamet out of his catatonic state following the incident with Cinelgen, softly cooing, _it's okay, Rhoamet, Link is here, and Inglis, and me, we're your friends._ By sunset of the second day the Guardian had finally crept out of the shadowed corner within that Gatehouse where it hid.

It was all the talk of escape that did it, Aurelia had explained, and the ochre brown of the dusk sky that made her think of home. It had made her ask the question that she was surprised hadn't occurred to her earlier: _why stay_?

Just half a dozen Yiga agreed to accompany her on her flight from Hyrule Castle - her younger sister Hana included. They had crowded in a tiny paddle boat, only two oars between them, their hoods drawn around their unmasked, youthful faces. They were not bladed ones; just acolytes and stewards, caught up in a war they didn't ask for and pining for home. With wide eyes, they watched as Link and Inglis bid Aurelia farewell.

"Waste no time," she advised, her remaining eye percussive in its insistence. "Go get your boy, fix his eye, and leave."

"Where will you go now, Aury?" Link questioned, the rest unsaid: _what will you do?_ Despite her plain clothes and humbled appearance, Link had not forgotten what Aurelia was. Without her armour, her wrists were bare, and tattooed in a fading red was the telltale inverted eye of the Yiga.

Aurelia was quick to understand, and made no attempt to soften her words; "There are those among my people who still want to fight you, Link, no matter what Cinelgen thinks, and no matter that Ganon is dead."

Link's tone was hopeful. "And what about _you_?"

She hesitated, opening her mouth to speak only to sigh. Her companions behind her shifted with impatience.

"I lived a quiet life in Karusa, with my sisters," Aurelia eventually said. "Hana and I were not bladed as Cassiah was. Home and some peace are all I want."

Inglis burst into a laugh that reverberated off of the cavern walls. "A quiet life for you?" he chortled.

Aurelia shot him a withering look. "Better than your existence," she gibbed, and his laughter quickly faded.

"Anyway, um," he muttered. "Safe travel."

With a curt nod, she turned on a determined heel towards the paddle boat. Link bit down his own hesitation - the ruminating apprehension at the idea he had held in his head for a few days now.

He caught a glimpse of rust coloured blood on her bandages and made his decision, reaching out to catch her by the shoulder. He owed her for getting Cinelgen out of the way. It wouldn't be right, to do nothing.

Before Aurelia could protest, Link held a hand up to her face - to where the wrapped bandages were beginning to yellow. She jolted away from him, but Link held her shoulder firm. " _What are you doing-_ -"

The soft blue light in his palm silenced her; Link closed his eyes as the wave of compassion washed over him, and the images of younger days, and happier times, flooded his senses. Inglis, and the other Yiga, watched with eyes of glass.

When the healing was done, Aurelia yanked herself from his grip. "What was _that_?" she demanded.

Link said nothing, but silently motioned for her to unwrap her bandages. Gingerly, hands shaking with uncertainty, Aurelia unravelled the cotton bandages, and touched her healed face in disbelief. Her eye was still missing, the eyelid hanging limply over the empty socket. But the gashes on her cheek and brow had closed, leaving clean, white scars.

"This is what our alliance could look like, Aury," Link said with a smile. And then, aware of the half dozen pairs of eyes staring at him in amazement, he added: "The Princess isn't the only mage left." _And it's all thanks to you,_ he thought, remembering Mipha, and the other Champions too. _Thanks to all of you_.

Aurelia's lip was trembling as though she might sob, but unexpectedly, she laughed, weak and cynical.

"Well, my mother always said I was too pretty," she wheezed, but her smile broke again when her fingers padded around the socket of the missing eye, and a single tear ran down her cheek.

"You look fine, Aury," Inglis assured her, giving her a solidary pat on the shoulder. For a moment, her lips twitched, betraying the relief that crossed her features. But then she recoiled.

"Stop smiling at me! Both of you!" she snapped, her scarred face reddening. She turned from them, all but running away from the friendship that had been extended to her. " _Dammit_ ," she cursed under her breath.

The trio exchanged not another word as the Yiga paddled out from the docks. When they approached the mouth of the cavern, Aurelia turned and gave Link and Inglis one last, rueful glare, and the shortest of waves. Link didn't even have time to wave back; another moment later, and Aurelia was gone. He expected some snide remark from the Akkalan, but Inglis simply stared in silence, eyes hooded and mouth downturned, at the place where she had stood.

* * *

The sun was up by the time Link and Inglis made it to the First Gatehouse, having retrieved the diamond from Cinelgen's study. The windows and archways of the Gatehouse were still boarded up, letting in only thin slivers of light; Link held the jewel up to one of the beams, and was pleased to see a concentrated ray landing in a pinpoint on the dirt.

Fitting the diamond had not been their only order of business. Before she had left, Aurelia had also helped Link inspect Rhoamet's damaged leg. The savage cut Cinna had made was not completely clean; twisted metal and ancient wiring hung loose from the severed limb. Eventually, with some patience and a lot of transcribed blinking, Link figured what was wrong. _Damage_ , the automaton had repeated over and over.

And so, armed with little more than a wrench, Robbie's bronze Sheikah goggles and his own will, Link had sought to alleviate some of that pain. He sent Rhoamet to sleep, coaxing him with promises of restoring his laser beam, and he, Aurelia and Inglis propped his enormous shell up against a wooden box that Aurelia had brought in from the storage cellar.

"He's a big boy," Inglis grunted as they lifted lowered the shell against the crate. "Though smaller than some I remember in Akkala."

Aurelia corroborated the observation. "Aye, smaller by a half, now that you mention it."

 _Smaller?_ Link was surprised to find that his companions were right; Rhoamet was smaller than the Guardians he had fought in the wild. _But why?_

He had put the thought out of his mind to focus on removing the rest of Rhoamet's damaged leg, the goggles proving invaluable as he navigated the Guardian's underbelly. They were even more novel than he had been expecting; the eye pieces moved, rotated and zoomed independently, allowing Link a dizzying range of vision at a detail that had him marvelling. When he'd first put them on, he spent almost an hour just gazing at the snaking contours and hidden valleys on the skin of his palms.

The goggles would prove even more useful today however, when at last the time had come to fit the new diamond.

Rhoamet sat with his remaining legs splayed out against the ground, having already been convinced to power himself down, his domed head cap unlatched and left on the ground beside his body. His beady eye was dark, and his shell pulsed with a dim cerulean hue. It reminded Link of his old tunic; _I wonder where that is_. _Still in the Sheikah Slate, perhaps?_

"Anything I can do?" Inglis called. He was inspecting the Gatehouse's main cast-iron doors. They had since been chained shut following Rhoamet's outburst the week prior. With the butt of his halberd, Inglis poked at the enormous lock, and the heavy chains tinkled as they shifted across the iron.

"Other than praying? No," Link answered, eyeing the iron doors. He climbed Rhoamet's shell with the diamond in hand, kneeling by the housing component that sat just behind the Guardian's eye.

He honed in on the housing component. As with the underbelly, it was a weave of interlocking components that slid and shifted under the slightest touch when Link attempted to adjust them. And beneath that, another network of gears and levers and locks whirred lazily, keeping Rhoamet ticking along in idle - the belly of the beast. It seemed unfathomable that amongst all the ancient metal and parts, there was something resembling a _being_ in there; but Link was convinced now that perhaps Rhoamet had at least a mimicry of a soul.

Focusing on the interlock, Link lowered the diamond into the clasps that would hold it in place, adjusting the gears ever so slightly, fingers lightening their grip, but not too fast, just enough so that it would…

 _Fit_. The clasps snapped into place, and as innate and organic as the heart in Link's chest, the diamond sat snug in the interlock. Cautiously, afraid that any lax movement would ruin his work, Link called for Inglis to help him reposition Rhoamet's domed headcap back onto his body.

"Time to wake him up?" Inglis asked.

Link held out an arm in front of him. "Just give it a second-"

The air shook. A long, brassy horn blast boomed across the Castle. In an instant, Inglis raced over to the side entrance of the Gatehouse. He threw open the heavy wooden door, and a blinding light streamed in through the archway. "Hylia help us," he said fearfully. "He's back."

Link scurried over to where Inglis stood, squinting as he peered down along the Western Passage towards the enormous gates of Hyrule Castle. And sure enough, there he was - on his sand coloured mount, flanked by his party of bandits, Cinelgen rode through the Gates with menacing purpose. He stopped to dismount, handing his mount to a nearby Stablehand. Behind, Milagre and the rest of the party trotted through the gates as another horn blast cut through the air.

Link and Inglis turned to each other in a panic. "You said he'd be gone a whole week," Link said incredulously. "It's been two days!"

"Something must have happened," Inglis determined. "Maybe he figured out the lie." His eyes were seeking, clouded by confusion. "Why do you think the Rito told him that? To catch him in the wild?"

Link looked to the west, to where Vah Medoh flew above the mountains of Hebra. It had not landed since its cleansing, tracing low circles around the rock spire of Lake Totori. As though mobilised for battle.

 _Ah_. _That's exactly what has happened._

He shook his head at Inglis' suggestion. "Not to catch him. To cut him off. They're coming here, Inglis."

The Akkalan boy stared westwards in shock, and a third and final horn blast rang out.

"Three blasts," he said. "A call to action." Their suspicions were confirmed. Below, Cinelgen was riding along the Western Passage towards the Gatehouse. Inglis' face hardened, and he tensed.

"He'll want Rhoamet, if there's to be fighting." He stepped through the threshold, his gaze locked on the Gerudo. "Link, you need to go, _now_."

"W-what?" Link stammered. "What about you?" He followed Inglis through the door.

"I'll delay Cinna," Inglis answered. There was a strength in his voice Link hadn't heard before; silhouetted by the morning light, Inglis seemed taller. "I'll… I'll lie. Like you. And give you time to wake Rhoamet and escape."

"No." _Not without you_. Link reached out, pleading, pulling him back by the arm. "Inglis-"

The Akkalan wrenched himself free. "It's fine," he said, turning back to give him a sad smile. "Let me be the hero for once, Link."

Link reeled, strung up by a sudden indecisiveness. They had been so close. The promise had almost been kept, Inglis had almost been free. He was speechless, unable to move, until Inglis stepped forward and seized him by the back of the head, pressing his forehead against Link's, brown eyes meeting blue.

"I'll see you soon," he assured him. "Just get yourself out of here, okay?"

Link nodded, bolstered. No time, and no choice. Inglis' selflessness had taken the decision from him. "I'll see you soon," he affirmed, and with a quick, brotherly embrace the pair parted; Inglis down the Western Passage, and Link back to his Guardian.

Fighting the shiver of his nerves, Link tapped Rhoamet's shell, whispering, "Wake up now." And, slowly, the colours on his shell intensifying, Rhoamet arose.

"Diagnostic?"

A thin red beam appeared from the Guardian's eye, the familiar beeping sending a shock through Link's spine. Rhoamet focused on the cast iron doors of the Gatehouse, the crimson laser honing in on where the chains held the door closed. He looked back down to Link;

 _TB OK_

"Good, good," Link said, balling his fists to keep them from shaking. His mind was racing, clambering for the scraps of his escape plan that he had figured out the evening prior. Holding his face still to mask his fear, he looked back up to his Guardian. "Alright, buddy, I think we're ready. We're not going out through the front. Too dangerous. But I've got my powers back, I just need you to go where I say." Link looked into Rhoamet's quiet eye, a hand to the back of his neck. "Do you trust me?"

After a pause, Rhoamet spelt out the answer;

 _Today._

Link smiled, relieved. "Today," he nodded and he climbed onto Rhoamet's shell, gripping one of the handles atop his head. Once he had settled into position, he reached down to tap the side of the Guardian's head and pointed towards the cast-iron doors. The red honing beam appeared again, locking onto the chains, and Link found that his once visceral reaction of terror was replaced by a thrill.

"No need to be afraid," he said, to both himself and his Guardian. "They captured you for what you can do. For your _power_."

Shouts had erupted from the Castle Gates, and then, a swan song for this chapter in his life, an otherworldly screech of a divine bird sounded across Hyrule. Link's smile broadened, the fear gone.

He tightened his grip. "C'mon, then. Let's give them what they want."

* * *

From the gates of Hyrule Castle, Inglis of Akkala watched the commotion unfold with a mask of solemnity, hiding the excitement underneath. He had been feigning concern over dilapidated camps in the Castle Town ruins, trying to distract Cinelgen and Milagre from entering the Gatehouse, when an arc of light emerged from the trees surrounding the Sacred Grounds.

Next was the call of the Divine Beast, high and strident, signalling Vah Medoh's advance from the mountains of Hebra. Inglis could feel the beat of propellers in his chest. And then - as Cinelgen's bandits scrambled - a beam of energy blasted down the doors of the First Gatehouse, sending a shower of broken metal and debris into the courtyard beyond. From the plume of dust that followed, Link and Rhoamet emerged, unhindered; boy and beast on their final flight at last.

Inglis almost cheered, his blood suddenly abuzz, as beside him Cinelgen cried out with a mixture of rage and terror, kicking the sand-speckled mount into a gallop down the Western Passage. Milagre moved to follow, but Inglis pulled himself up onto her saddle, giving the reigns a cracking whip. He didn't turn, didn't apologise for the intrusion, and together they sped along the passage after Cinelgen.

The Successors that had not fled converged on Link and Rhoamet in the courtyard between the twin Gatehouses. They blocked both paths where the courtyard split - the left leading to the second Gatehouse, and the right a small alley path down to the Dining Hall.

A few brave ones leapt onto the Guardian's shell, recklessly attempting to secure it, only to be knocked back by a gale that erupted from between Link's hands. And any that came at him with spears or arrows were rebuffed by a glowing, angular sphere of red light that appeared around the Knight. _His powers_ , Inglis realised, watching with a subdued glee. The Guardian reeled and spun, his Knight riding atop his head, knocking back assailant after assailant, his blonde hair whipping about his face in the wind and his blue eyes caught fire. Inglis saw, and he knew; _this is what he was born for._

"What are you doing?" Cinelgen bellowed, watching the chaos from the first Gatehouse. "Stop them!" He whipped his horse again, bearing down on the Guardian, but with almost casual ease, Link turned and snapped his fingers, raining a barrage of lightning down around the Gerudo and his mount, the thunder so loud that Inglis felt the air around him crackle. Cinna's horse reared, throwing the Gerudo to the ground.

Wasting no time, Link and Rhoamet powered towards the alley path, a bursting beam of energy scattering any who stood in their way.

Inglis kicked the horse forward, keeping up if only to bear witness. Behind him, Cinelgen had remounted his horse in fleet footed pursuit. Undeterred by his pursuers, Link pointed forwards as Rhoamet neared the outpost at the edge of island, where the Castle kissed the mainland and the moat was narrow. Compliant, remaining legs frantic, Rhoamet scaled the aging brick outpost with fervour. His domed head whirred and locked, passing a final look at the Castle, and his captors, until Link gave the order to move. _Let's go, buddy_ , Inglis heard him say, and allowed himself at last to smile.

The Successors could not catch them. Even Cinelgen had slowed. The shimmering sphere of protection grew to encompass the entire Guardian itself, and another gale of rushing air launched Link and Rhoamet from the parapets. Inglis' smile became a roaring laugh. It didn't matter who heard, who saw; the Akkalan watched and laughed as, victorious and free at last, Link and Rhoamet flew.

* * *

Bronze light all around; a protection. Fearsome pink lights below; a Guardian. Link could not fight the urge to scream as he and Rhoamet plunged down from Hyrule Castle. His nails scraped automaton's ancient stone, fighting for grip, for focus, the rush of the fall threatening to take both as the cold waters below sat ready for a battering embrace.

The world lurched, the bronze shield shattering, and pain tore through Link's skull in a splintering burst. He felt his bones crunch, and saw the blue of the sky, a flash of pink and five splayed out legs - a luminous shell bouncing and rolling behind him, and then tasted dirt as his vision went black.

 _Dirt,_ he realised. _Dirt!_ They had landed on solid ground!

Link pulled himself to his feet, and was met with the banks of the far side of the Hyrule Castle Moat. One of the towering Sheikah Pillars pulsed beside him, spiking back towards the Castle. And on Link's other side, seeming somewhat dazed, Rhoamet had recovered, padding shakily along the slippery grass. But he was not hurt. The Guardian was intact.

There was nothing to do but cheer. Thirty feet of still waters, a mountain of rock and high walls separated now Link from Hyrule Castle. He had escaped; Rhoamet had escaped. He leapt onto the Guardian's shell and wrapped his hands around its head, laughing as Rhoamet stumbled backwards beneath him.

Before them lay the ruins of the Hyrule Cathedral, with the camp at Castle Town nestled below the noll just beyond. Up above, watching from the parapets, the remainder of Cinelgen's bandits gazed down with angry, disbelieving eyes. Even Cinelgen was among them, face blackened with rage, Inglis and Milagre patiently at his side. Link blew them a kiss, gloating. But the celebration was short lived; Cinelgen was shouting for someone to chase after them. _Good luck with that_. Link and his Guardian disappeared into the rolling hills and steppes, crossing over to Crenal Peak.

They sped along the muddy ground together as a light rain began to drizzle around them, towards a small forest of trees that were budding with the first flowers of spring. Behind them, the Divine Beast of the Rito was nearing the Castle, soon circling the fortress in an almost lazy paced holding pattern.

It would start soon, he knew. The Rito would attack. Link wanted to be there. Whether it be a siege or an assault, he flexed his sword hand and felt the need return. The hunger that had been lost to him these past months, taken by a fever, returned by Cinelgen's cruelty and the memory of a Princess.

Link gave himself a once over; he was uninjured, if a little muddy, but he had no gear and no weapons save his hobbled together clothes and Robbie's mechanical goggles. Inglis was meant to equip him with a sword before their escape, but Cinelgen's return had left no time for that. Rhoamet sat huddled amongst the trees, patient as always. He had _one_ weapon, Link decided. But he would not risk exposing Rhoamet to yet more fighting. _You're just too big of a target, and I can't always protect you,_ he concluded, casting a long gaze towards the Castle Town ruins.

A small camp lay there, he remembered, sifting through his mental catalogue. They had passed it on their way to and from Eldin; no more than a dozen bandits living amongst the ruin to act as watchers. Had they sounded the alarm? It didn't matter; they would have weapons. He told Rhoamet to power down, to wake himself for no one but Link, and set off for Castle Town. When he looked back, his Guardian had become part of the landscape, indistinguishable from the decayed and dead automatons dotted throughout the fields.

The drizzle was persistent, quickly soaking through Link's meagre clothes and softening the ground beneath his feet. A good omen. The wetted ground would mask his footsteps. Link moved with purposeful gait, eyes tunneled on the camp ahead, every sense alert as he listened for movement, for noises, for chatter and orders in the rain.

He stalked along the western outskirts of town ruins, spying a huddle of wind-battered lean-tos, counting the dozen Successors that he had expected. Mostly Hylian, some Gerudo, some Rito. He pressed further inwards, keeping close to what remained of the walls, watching and listening to the scurrying of the bandits through the camp as they attempted to ready themselves for the attack. In an empty tent he found a sturdy wooden shield, its face marked and dented. Not quite his Hylian Shield, but it would do. To his disappointment, there was nothing else to find.

Collapsed houses, puddles and spikes of gurgling Malice and the crumbling remains of the town passed by until Link was not far from the centre. Peering across the camp, Link spied the Sacred Grounds, shielded by heavy evergreens. He caught a rustle, a movement, and squinted at a shift in colour - or perhaps the absence of it. Something _white_. Link reached for the goggles and pulled them down over his eyes, and had to bite it his lip to keep from crying out.

Aimed square in his direction, cold and unfeeling in intent, was an arrow nocked into the bow of a white Rito warrior. Beside him stood a broad-shouldered green-feather, and another, smaller blue-feather. They held their bows all raised, hidden by the shrubbery of the Sacred Grounds. An ambush. _Wait! I know you_ , Link almost cried, but a shout came from his left flank - a bandit, burly and well-built, demanding to know who he was.

Link flinched backwards, and moved just in time to catch the white Rito's arrow with the sturdy wood of his shield. A cacophony of hissing arrows soon followed, whistling through the ruins. Link tore the goggles from his face and turned towards the burly Hylian bandit.

"What's going on!?" the man shouted, "Who-" And then he disappeared, a barrelling blur knocking him to the ground, followed by another, and another; great rolling boulders that thundered through the ruins. _No, not boulders_ , he realised, his mouth hung open in disbelief. _Gorons!_

And then a flash of red sped past him, atop a well-armored mount; a Gerudo woman in bronze, wielding a shining claymore. With a clean swing she sent one of the Successors flying, crashing into the ruined water fountain. A duo of riders were at her flank, golden weapons raised, howling as they rode. On the other side of the ruins, a towering, crimson Zora warrior leapt into the fray, wielding a silver spear which he buried into the chest of a retaliating bandit. Another two Zora followed, their silver weapons and jewels catching the light as they moved.

Above, the trio of Rito had taken to the sky; white, blue, and green, all with their bows angled towards the ruins. Link ducked under his shield again as a second hail of arrows hit, and the bandits went down.

There was a cry behind him - another bandit, cut down by an golden arrow - as well as the tremor of horse's hooves. Link was almost bowled over by the white mare that tore along the now path towards the gates of Hyrule Castle. Link spun around towards them, _Don't!,_ on his lips, and he froze.

The rider was a short-haired woman, in a navy coat with Rito pauldrons, a bow in hand and a sword at her back. She raised her right palm to the sky, staring down the bandits that watched from the walls of the Castle, a shining barrier her shield, and the golden mark on her hand.

Zelda.

Link wasn't sure if he had shouted it, or only imagined that he had. He could not move. _She won't recognise me_ , _she won't know me_. He began to back away, the old doubts swarming him in a flurry that made his stomach churn. _She doesn't need me_.

Familiar faces appeared around him. The white Rito landed beside the fountain, his yellow eyes wide and harsh, face drawn. And then the crimson Zora turned, his toothy grin fading into shock. The Gerudo atop their horses watched with steeled faces, betraying no reaction, and even the Gorons had seen. _I know you_ , their faces said. If they spoke Link couldn't know. He was paralyzed; he was underwater; a thousand miles away from himself, unable to process what he saw. They were all here. All of Hyrule had come for the Castle.

The Rito spoke first; the girl had not noticed their silence. Perhaps it was the rain. Perhaps this was a dream. _Zelda_ , he said, and Link shuddered at the name. He wasn't ready.

But the girl turned. Her hand dropped. The ruins were forgotten, her horse abandoned, and she began to run.

"Link!" she shouted, sprinting across the crumbling path, rendered in gold, and blue, and every colour he could imagine, and as he ran towards her all he could think was, _Yes, that's my name, that's who I am_ , and his doubts were gone.

Zelda hit him like wave, breaking against his chest, so hard that he almost didn't catch her. They spun together, tangled in a clinging embrace, chest to chest and arm around arm. She was warm, _so_ warm, and he trembled against her, the sound of his name in her voice the only thing he could hear. Against his palms he felt the thick wool of her coat. He buried his face in it, feeling the dew from the rain against his face. He was shaking, whining, they both were, and he realised they were both laughing too. His cheeks ached. He tasted salt.

Link felt her unravel herself from him, pulling away, and then there she was. Nose to nose, forehead to forehead, her face next to his. _Hylia help me_. She was so beautiful, so sudden - familiar and foreign, novel and known. He placed a hand at the back of her head, fingers pawing, searching.

"Your hair!" he cried.

Zelda had done the same. " _Your_ hair!" she laughed, a hand where his ponytail would have been.

They were laughing again, on their knees, huddled together on the wetted ground. _When did that happen?_ She had a hand to his face, thumbing away the water, resting against his cheek, warm fingers tracing the cuts and bruises. "You're hurt," she murmured.

"Just a little," Link chuckled. A corner of blue caught his eye and he looked down to see his tunic, hidden amongst the warm coat and downy Rito armour that she wore. "You're… this is…" he was speechless.

Her fingers traced over his ear, pushing the wet hair from his face. She whispered, "I needed it. Needed you with me," and Link all but broke.

The relief was a flood, hitting him harder than any blow, shattering him into a dozen, dozen pieces. He seized her for support, bracketing her, holding her so tight that he couldn't see, only faintly aware of the staring faces around them. He didn't care. Zelda was here. She was wearing his tunic. She needed him. He tried to speak and all he said was her name. And she had her hand in his hair, soothing him, letting him fold into her, and the way she smelled of wet wool and old leather and earth and grass and rain.

"It's okay, it's okay," she was saying. "I've got you, I'm here. And so are you - you're _alive_ and you're here." Her hands were on his face then, green eyes filling his vision. "We made it home."

* * *

Introductions - or re-introductions - were made. A clean slate; the rain washed away the blood from the fight. Link made a mental note of Zelda's small force. He couldn't help it now. Always counting, always observing. He tallied them as they exchanged pleasantries, congratulations, joyful hugs - the new Champions, Link surmised.

Sidon with his three Zora warriors burst forward, seizing Link in a crushing hug; "My friend!" he cried. "You live!" A familiar, pacifying voice then called for the Prince to let go, and Link was breathlessly reunited with Ambassador Larella. She was adorned in jewels once more, finer than he had ever seen her wear, the colour returned to her cheeks, her eyes. The Ambassador reported happily that Robbie and Granté had likely made it home safe.

"And where is Rhoamet?" she asked, but there was no time to reply, as Yunobo brought a solid hand across Link's back.

"Hey!" the Goron smiled. "You're here! I'm sorry about what happened, on the mountain."

"No hard feelings," Link assured him, and Yunobo laughed, clasping his belly, his whole body shaking. _Because we're rocks_ , he told his brawlers, and a chuckle rumbled through the group.

Buliara came next with her riders, and later Chief Riju, who had waited out the fighting at the edge of the town. The little Gerudo was almost his height now, her regal attire swapped out for riding pants and leather armour embroidered in golden flecks. Her nails were blackened, but she was not yet a warrior like her bodyguard, it seemed.

"Greetings, Link," she said with a smile. "Let's hope the fighting here is short, we've our own battles to fight in Gerudo."

And then came Teba. He stood at Zelda's side, watching the reunions in silence. At last he simply nodded and said, "Good to see that you live," his eyes guarded, almost sceptical. _That's just Teba,_ Link decided. With Link caught up, Zelda stepped forward, unbuckling the Master Sword from her back. She held it out to him, silent hesitation written on her features, mouth downturned in a sorry frown.

Link took the Sword firmly in hand. He strapped it over his shoulder, and smiled inwardly at the familiar weight. The pull of the buckles against his chest was a warm embrace; making him feel stronger, making him feel whole. _Good to have you back_ , he thought, and he felt the reply,

 _And to you, Master_.

All in all, he counted thirty fighters, including the Rito Warriors that apparently waited from within Vah Medoh. Not _quite_ all of Hyrule. And outnumbered by Cinelgen's force two to one.

The party plied him for an explanation, asking, _why are you here?_ Link could have asked them the same thing, _how_ being the more apt question. But he couldn't find the energy to answer. And in any case, there was only one person he wished to speak to, and one thing he wished to speak to her about.

Zelda left Teba in charge of the small envoy while Link lead her east towards the forest where he had left Rhoamet. They walked in silence, exchanging pleasantries and apprehensive observations;

"That's a nice coat."

"Thank you, it was a gift."

"It suits you."

"I can't say that for your clothes."

"Prisoners can't be choosers."

And then silence. Three months apart, this moment played out in his head a hundred times, and no words to say. Zelda hadn't even asked where they were going - she simply followed, quiet and complacent, pressed in close by Link's side as he lead them through dewed grasses of Hyrule Field.

At last they approached the trees, and Link held his arm out in front of her. "Promise me, you won't _do_ anything."

She scrunched up her nose at him. "What do you mean _do_ anything?"

"Just…" Link could not even begin to explain. "He's good. Like they used to be."

"He…?" Zelda echoed, face blank with confusion. Link kept his arm in front of her, and turned towards the trees.

" _HOIIIIII-!"_ he called. " _WAAKE UP!_ "

Zelda started backwards at his sudden shout. "What-?"

Blue light flickered through the trees, and her face dropped. Dutifully, ready to serve, Rhoamet marched out from the copse, sitting himself down contentedly in front of them.

 _Hello_ , he said, domed head rotating and juttering, back and forth as he looked between the two Hylians before him.

Zelda was statuesque - eyes wide as saucers, her mouth open and round. "W-was that... was that Shiekah Code?" she whispered. "Did it just-"

Link nodded, "Sure did." He walked over to Rhoamet, and said, "This is Zelda."

Rhoamet lifted one of his legs in a short, stilted wave. _Hello_ , he said again, spelling out her name. _Z-E-L-D-A_

A strangled, whining sound escaped Zelda's lips. " _W-what…?"_

Link turned back to Zelda with a wide grin on his face, hands on his hips, speaking as though he were a proud parent. "Cinelgen had me working on him," he explained. "Figuring out how to control him. Robbie taught me the code, and even gave me his goggles." He gave Rhoamet's shell two genial taps. "I even convinced Cinna to take me to Eldin, to get a new diamond for him. Might be useful breaking into that Castle of yours."

"And you… you tamed him?" Zelda asked. Mystified, she stepped towards the Guardian with a hand outstretched. _Hello_ , _Zelda_ , Rhoamet said again.

"I wouldn't say tamed… I befriended him," he told her as she placed a hand on Rhoamet's shell. "And… I named him Rhoamet."

She snatched her hand away, and gave him a crestfallen look. Link stumbled over himself to apologise, muttering, _sorry, sorry no, I shouldn't have,_ but her lips twitched into a smile, leaving Link breathless as he waited for her to speak.

"You… this is amazing, Link," Zelda marvelled, her breath catching. She clasped her hands at her chest and beamed. "This is… a _living_ Guardian! And… and he trusts you! He listens to you! And you gained Cinelgen's trust?"

"Only because he wanted to give it," Link said. "He's… Cinna is something else. His whole operation is a mess."

"Any information you gathered on them is invaluable. I… I can't tell you how proud I am!"

Link scratched the nape of his neck. "Yeah, well, it's nothing you couldn't have done."

"No, I could never-" Zelda shook her head, her eyes never leaving Rhoamet. "No, he trusts you because you are kind to him. I'd have been… too analytical. Too focused. And I'd have never broken out of Hyrule Castle, that's for sure."

"You?" Link laughed. He pointed to Vah Medoh, still flying low over Hyrule Castle. "You cleansed Medoh, _alone_! I thought it needed us both!"

"It did. It does!" Zelda corrected him, rushing to his side to place an apologetic hand on his arm. "You are the Sword's Master, it _should_ only answer to you. But I think it knew that allowing the Ritual to proceed was how it would be returned to you."

"And your army? Was that all the Sword as well?"

"No, it wasn't." Zelda conceded. "But they came for _you_ , Link."

"And they followed _you_ all the way here," Link countered. Zelda opened her mouth to reply, furrowed lines appearing on her brow, though still she smiled - she was unreadable, changed somehow. _Was it something I said?_

Link bowed his head. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't argue, I know."

"No!" Zelda blurted, her grip on his arm tightening. "Say anything you want. Argue with me, _please_."

Perhaps this was a dream. He gaped down at her, trying to understand. "That's… that's what you want?"

"I want you to be you," Zelda smiled, taking his hands into hers, her conviction wrenching in his chest. "Back with me as my friend, and my partner, even if I don't deserve you-"

Link could not help but laugh; giddy, dizzy, the warmth of her hands like a hearthfire. "Don't deserve…? Look at what you've done! The Rito and Medoh and your army-"

"And look at what you've done!" Zelda beamed, gesturing towards Rhoamet. "This Guardian, befriending Cinna… I should have seen what you're capable of now. I should have understood..."

The admission was easy, the words rolling hot off his tongue, frustration laced in between. "Well it was all for you. All of it," He gripped her hands tighter. "All the lies I told and all the things I did. All in the hope that I'd live long enough to see you again."

A heavy silence fell. Zelda gazed up at him in shock, and Link wondered if he'd said too much. _Said too much!_ _Him!?_ But he didn't care. She was here, her hands in his and somehow they were still fighting. "Maybe I'm different, but I never stopped wanting you," he told her. "I tried to forget you, for three months, tried to be me without you and I didn't work and-"

She kissed him.

Hands on his face, the gentle prick of her nails scraping his jaw, she was kissing him, lips warm and solid and _real_ against his. He had no time to be shocked, no time to pull away - but, Goddess, had he the choice, he never would. She had him, encapsulated, enraptured, and Link seized her around the waist to pull her closer as they fell into each other with everything they were, and had ever been.

"I'm sorry," she whispered between kisses. "What I said, at Hyrule Castle, I never should have…"

"It's okay, it's okay," he soothed, running his fingers through her hair.

" _No_." She broke away, and he chased her, afraid she would slip through his fingers. "It was cruel. To compare you to-" Their lips met again; he breathed her words.

"I don't care," Link told her. "Be cruel." He kissed her again, and again, breaking away to find her cheek, her neck, salted skin on his lips and golden hair between his hands. "Just don't stop."

She giggled, gasping, giving him one last, lingering kiss before untangling herself from him. "You're _incorrigible_."

"You started it."

"I did not. You did." Zelda poked him square in the chest, and he feigned great offense; shot through the heart, wounded. She ignored him. "In Lanayru. _You_ kissed _me_."

"And I've waited three months to kiss you again - come _here_!" He reached for her, but Zelda darted away from him, squealing as she tried to evade his needing arms. Soon enough he had her again, bundling her close, afraid to let go lest he lose her all over again. More kisses; he had to keep kissing her, to make up for those lost months, but it would never be enough. It was a flood now, threatening to break banks.

"Stop, stop!" Zelda laughed, squirming from his grip. "Link, we have Castle to take back. We can continue this after."

He had a hand at her waist. "Is that a promi- _ow!_ " She'd reached up to pinch his ear, ignoring his pouty whine.

" _Shush._ I take it you can still fight?"

Recovering, Link brought a hand to the hilt of his sword. _Well?_ He asked, but he needn't wait for the answer. The blade already felt warm in his grip. He met her eyes with a broad smile. "Is that even a question?"

* * *

A cleared bench became their war table, the map drawn in chalk on the splintered wood. Hyrule Castle lay ready for taking, even with their meagre force. But the Castle was not the goal.

"Cinelgen is," Zelda explained to the envoy.

"And Milagre," Link added. "She controls his forces. Without her, he has nothing."

He stood at her side, his Guardian waiting patiently behind him, and stood with arms crossed and features hard as he studied the map. As he spoke, Zelda feigned pensive intent, listening to his words as he explained Cinelgen's number and the state of the Castle. But her eyes lingered on his features, on his broad chest and muscled arms. She had given him his Hylian Soldier armour to wear and now couldn't help but stare, take ownership. _He's mine_ , she thought. Link caught her staring and his lips flickered into a smile.

"We're ready when you are," Teba said, pulling her from her daydream. "Unless there are other matters to attend to."

He gave her a knowing look. _Shit_. Was it that obvious? Zelda blinked away her wandering thoughts and refocused on the expectant faces around her.

"We keep to our plans," she said. "The Rito will wait for our signal, as will the Zora. The Gorons and Gerudo will stay with myself and Link. Larella and Riju will stay with Rhoamet. The rest of you; take no risks and hold nothing back. I'd burn this Castle down if it meant capturing Cinelgen."

Link shook his head. "No, we cannot be brash. There's too many of them, and we do nothing for your cause by killing _more_ Hylians." His words cautious and measured, but commanding all the same, reminding her and everyone else at the table of the Knight he once was. Zelda took the advice in her stride; there was truth in his words, and it would not do to argue - not now.

"As you say. We only engage if we absolutely must," Zelda affirmed. "We're a dagger, not a hammer. Make yourselves _effective_ , despite any weakness."

A murmur of agreement rolled through the envoy. Teba nodded; Sidon balled his hand into a fist, the Gorons thumped their chests and Buliara and Riju both bowed their heads.

Zelda took a deep breath; of all she had done, the assault set her heart racing the fastest. She had an army - the smallest of armies - but now that meant she had people to protect. Link placed a steadying hand at her back. "We await your orders," he said, gesturing to Rhoamet.

"If he's ready, then so are we."

Link appraised the automaton warmly. "Oh, he's ready," he said.

* * *

They walked as a trio, with their force of Gorons and Gerudo behind them; Princess, Knight, Guardian. A flash of white caught her eye above; a Rito warrior returning to his Beast.

The arrows had ceased, though Zelda held her hand ready lest they need a barrier. Silent eyes watched from the walls of the Castle, bows held ready, threatening; _any further and you die_. Zelda smiled up at them; the Yiga and the bandits, who held her Castle. She smiled to keep her features soft, to hide the rage. If she could throw them all into Hylia River, she would.

"We wish to speak with Cinelgen," Zelda announced, addressing the watchers. They turned to one another in confusion. "Give us free passage and we will not attack."

There was shouting from within the walls; barked orders, confused questions, _what did you just say?_

"They expect a fight," Zelda said.

"Then give them one," Link returned, and they exchanged a smile.

Zelda raised her hand skywards, sending a lance of energy up towards Vah Medoh. The clouds had opened, the rain falling in thick and heavy droplets. The sky flashed; thunder groaning above. _Winter's break_ ; the first storm of Spring.

Three taps on Rhoamet's shell from Link and without warning, without mercy, the Guardian fired off a barrage of energy into the gates of Hyrule Castle. They splintered and twisted and the watchers cried out, some ducking and some fleeing. Zelda heard screaming from within the Castle. _Good_ , she thought. _Let them run_. Once the debris settled, the path into Hyrule Castle was clear.

" _WITH ME!_ " Link roared, his cries echoed by the fighters behind him. Unhindered, the envoy stormed into the Castle, as above, the Rito cascaded down from Vah Medoh.

Arrows rained down around them. Some from the Rito. Some from the bandits, joining the storm all the same. The Gorons streamed past, barrelling through the gates, with the Gerudo following not far behind. Zelda held her barrier high, protecting them all. The rain was in her eyes, her hair, her face, as she sprinted into it along the Western Passage, with Link at her side. _The way it should be_. The watchers on the wall fell one by one as the Rito swooped and dived, cawing and calling, their battle cries a song.

A wall of shields met them in front of the first Gatehouse, crumpling like paper as the Gorons rolled on through. Metal met stone; the Gorons and Successors threw themselves at each other, Yunobo leading the charge, his Champion scarf a whip in the harsh winds. Link wrapped his hand around Zelda's and together they weaved through the chaos, stumbling into First Gatehouse. The Gerudo were already in the courtyard ahead, riding down bandits that waited for them, horses rearing, screaming, blood on the dirt as one caught an arrow through the neck, its rider toppling.

More archers descended from within the Gatehouse. Too many to catch. Zelda fired arrow after arrow as Link dodged those that were sent their way. The windows were bordered, and she could barely see. Pain blossomed on her arm, a slice through her Rito coat as an arrow grazed her skin. Zelda let the pain pass and soon felt nothing at all. One archer fell, and then another, and then another, until Zelda looked around and realised the arrows were coming from the opposite side of the Gatehouse.

"Teba!" she cried, relief washing through her. The Rito warrior stood in the far doorway, his Falcon bow drawn, and eyes narrow, only stopping to give her a cursory nod before returning his attention to the bandits.

"Go!" he told them. "Cinelgen is just beyond the other Gatehouse!"

Link and Zelda bolted forward, hand in hand once again, bursting out into the courtyard only to be intercepted by two bandits - a Hylian and Zora, both bloodied and frenzied, swords glinting in the sudden sun. The Zora lunged for her and Zelda dodged, shifting towards Link. He spun on his heel, elbowing the Zora in the stomach and raising his sword to block the incoming blow from the Hylian. The Zora was staggered just long enough; Zelda scrambled for her bow, drawing a light arrow and burying it in the Zora's chest. She pivoted, drew her bow again, exhaled and fired, knocking down the Hylian attacker just as Link had raised his sword again to strike.

"Nicely done," he breathed, his smile almost proud. She could have kissed him right then and there until she spotted a tuft of red hair among the fray in the courtyard ahead. _Cinelgen_.

" _There_!" she shouted. He was toe to toe with Buliara; she fought hard, but Cinelgen was quick, wielding a feathered Rito sword was dizzying ease. The spear-wielder Milagre was at his side. Zelda raised her bow towards them, but a bolt of lightning cracked the gathering twilight, illuminating the Castle in a shock of white. For a moment she was staggered, blinded, and the Gerudo was gone, fleeing into the second Gatehouse. To her left the Zora were speeding up along the alley path, waving her down.

Sidon met them at the centre of the courtyard, shouting, "He has a boat! At the waterfalls!"

But Zelda was not listening. "It doesn't matter! He will not escape." And she waved her forces into the Second Gatehouse. Sidon and Buliara followed close behind, with Teba and the Gorons - who had finally dispatched the first wave of bandits - closing in behind them.

They spilled into the Second Gatehouse with weapons ready, and Cinelgen met them from the balcony with little more than a laugh. All too late, Zelda realised that the doors had been closed behind them.

"It's a trap!" Teba shouted, echoing her thoughts. "We need to go," he wrapped a wingtip around Zelda's arm as the more bandits appeared in the balconies.

"Wait, don't!" Sidon cried, pointed to the archers, "Look! You go and they shoot you down!"

"Ohhh, man!" Yunobo whined. Buliara silently brought her claymore to bear. The party formed a circle, back to back, weapons ready; Teba with his bow, Buliara with her claymore, Sidon with his trident, and Yunobo with his crusher. Zelda drew her bow, and beside her, Link held the Master Sword ready. They stood in solidarity, ready to meet Cinelgen's onslaught.

Down from the parapets a ring of attackers surrounded them; long spears in hand, angled forwards, tower shields held in a clean circle, only broken where a spear was threaded through. A crush.

Zelda raised a hand, erecting a shielding dome around the party. She felt the force of the bandit's spears against her palm, trying in vain to break the barrier.

"I can't hold forever," she called. "Are we ready!?"

"Ready!" echoed the others. Link intertwined his hand in hers for just a moment, and together turned towards their attackers. She dropped the shield.

Arrows whistled past; one lodged in Link's shield, another bouncing ineffectually off of Yunobo's thick chest; one catching Prince Sidon in the leg, only managing to scrape his scales. Zelda returned fire as quickly as she could.

"Don't miss!" Teba shouted, taking aim for Cinelgen. The arrow missed, snapping against the roof of the Gatehouse.

"Take your own advice!" Zelda called back, and the Gatehouse was filled with the Rito's raucous laughter.

Further inwards the bandits pressed, and closer together the party drew. Link dove and cut one of the bandits down, but the circle only pressed in tighter. A spear jutted towards Zelda's side, but Teba shoved her out of the way, the tip piecing his wing, blood trailing down his feathers. With a scream, Zelda raised her hand and blasted the bandit in front of them, sending him careening into the Gatehouse wall. The circle of shields was not broken.

And just as they seemed caught, the doors of the Gatehouse were suddenly blasted open, the smell of molten and smoke filling the air. Zelda covered her eyes, ducking under the debris that was launched through the arena. The bandits around them had scrambled, spears forgotten, and when she opened her eyes she saw a silhouette in the doorway, and the source of their panic.

" _Rhoamet!_ " Link cried, shoving his way through the bandits towards his Guardian.

"Get down!" Buliara shouted, and they all dropped to the floor. Another energy beam tore through the Gatehouse, destroying the second door on the far side of the arena. Zelda looked up to where Cinelgen had been; but he was already gone.

"Retreat, retreat!" came the call from the bandits. They fled in all directions - towards the courtyard, towards the Eastern Passage, and Zelda knew the scales were tipping. The assault became a chase as Rhoamet bore down on the bandits, with Link riding tandem, extending a hand down to Zelda to pull her onto the Guardian. What remained of her forces ran behind them, pursuing the bandits all the way to the throne room. The Gorons battered down the doors, and Zelda caught sight of Cinelgen within.

"Protect Rhoamet!" she shouted at the party as she and Link bolted into the Sanctum.

Cinelgen waited at the throne, arms wide. "Welcome home, Princess! Or should I say, Rito Princess!" he boomed down at them. Milagre stood to his left, on one of the curved stairwells, while the Hylian named Inglis stood off to the right, near a side entrance that led to another open courtyard beyond. His face was bloodied, though his weapon - a traveller's longsword -was clean. The remainder of the bandits had either fled entirely, or were huddled around the edges of the room.

"It's over, Cinna," Link said.

"No! No it isn't!" The Gerudo laughed. "Come, fight a little more with me."

"We're not here to fight!" Zelda shouted up at him. Her own forces were filing into the room then; no bandits remained beyond the throne room walls.

"If you want Cinna you will go through us," Milagre warned.

 _My thoughts exactly._ Zelda turned to Link, motioning towards Inglis. "He's yours," she said, and she sprinted towards the stairs to where Milagre stood.

The room was at once abuzz. The last scraps of her army clashed with Cinelgen's - their plans for a pointed attack forgotten. A bandit cut her off as she reached the stairs, but Zelda blocked his blind stab, turning to send a surge of energy into his chest, and wrenching his spear free from his hands. _You should be able to do this in your sleep_. Teba's drills and Link's water dance came back to her in a heartbeat and she thrust the spear towards Milagre. The Yiga woman blocked, bringing her own spear in a long arc towards Zelda's neck. She dodged, reeling backwards, and together they stepped across the stairs. Two steps forward, two steps back, they traded blows and shouts, drawing blood here and there, in an arm, nails across the face, a nick in the neck.

"Better and better," Milagre teased, and Zelda roared, pushing her harder, fighting, and fighting, Cinelgen forgotten, her fury all she could see.

* * *

Below, Link and the Inglis were engaged in their own tussle, blows hesitant, strangely light. Steel rang against steel, slower than the rest of the fighters around them.

"Let me pass!" Link shouted. "Please!"

But Inglis would not let up. "I won't let you kill him!"

"I won't!"

The Akkalan would not listen; with both hands he swung his sword wildly, but Link caught the blow, redirecting his weight backwards, seizing Inglis by the arm and tossing him against the planks. Regaining his balance Link leapt up the curved stairway towards Cinelgen, the Master Sword raised and ready to strike. "Don't - please!" Inglis begged, scrambling to his feet, but Link had no choice.

The Gerudo caught his first strike easily, cackling, taunting, "So this is the Hero at last!"

Link's attention split. As he parried a curt stab from Cinelgen's Rito sword, he saw the Akkalan turn in his periphery, facing an advancing Zora attacker. One of Sidon's. But Inglis had moved too slow. The silver spear glanced off of his temple, and the throne room was filled with his screams. Both Link and Cinelgen cried out at once, turning in unison towards the Akkalan. Blood was streaming down his left side, his hands to his face, to the side of his head. To where his ear had been.

"Milagre!" the Gerudo shouted. " _Inglis!_ "

At once the Yiga woman turned and, understanding what had happened, lobbed her spear towards the Zora. The tip lodged clean in his neck, sending him tumbling backwards across the wooden floor.

"Let's go!" Cinna shouted, tearing away from Link and leaping from the balcony. Milagre followed, with Zelda in pursuit, meeting Inglis and Cinelgen at the centre of the room. Together they fled to through the eastern side entrance, out to the open courtyard beyond and its cliffside bluffs.

 _The waterfall!_ Link realised. He vaulted from the balcony, breathless as he sprinted after the trio. He Zelda at the edge of the courtyard. She had her bow drawn but was unmoving, unable to advance, and then he saw.

Cinelgen was stood at the edge of the cliff, his arm around Inglis' neck, and a knife to the Akkalan's bloodied face.

"Any movement, and he dies," Cinelgen said calmly. "You wouldn't do that to a friend, would you?"

"He's going to escape! Link!" Zelda cried, arms trembling under the weight of her bow.

Inglis' eyes met Link's; deep pools of solemn brown. He shook his head, and mouthed something Link could not read, eyes were glistening; tears from the pain, of every kind.

"Let him," Link said resignedly. "He's won."

Ahead, Cinelgen erupted into a shrill, gleeful laughter. He blew them a kiss, and threw the dagger to the ground. Zelda loosed her arrow, but it was not fast enough; a single step took Cinelgen and Inglis over the edge of the cliff.

The shout rang in his ears; _"No!"_

They bolted forward, reaching the cliff's edge in time to see Cinelgen and Inglis plunge into the waterfalls below. Beyond, he saw the boat Sidon had been referring too - hardly bigger than Aurelia's paddle boat, but equipped with a dozen oars. It rolled and banked against the winds of the storm, and soon disappeared from sight.

Zelda surged forward, as if ready to leap after them, but Link seized her and her back, though every ounce of his being wanted to leap as well. _Let me go,_ she was shouting, pounding at his hands _,_ but he gripped her tight, shaking, overcome; weeping for his friend, as around them the rain continued to fall.

* * *

It was Teba that found them, still huddled together. He listened with a clenched beak as Zelda explained. She had been quick to understand; the Hylian Inglis was an ally. And now he could be as good as dead. With soothing words and gentle hands, Zelda ushered Link to his feet.

Behind them, the throne room was empty. They walked inside together.

The others were waiting for them; Sidon, Yunobo and Buliara. Their people had rounded up the rest of the bandits, though few remained, and they waited outside at Teba's behest. _Let her have this_ , he had told them. _Let her have some peace._

As they walked into the throne room, Zelda cast her eyes over the broken marble, the bloodstained floor, the torn banners. _So this is my Castle_. She climbed the stairs once again, one at a time, and stood before the throne.

It was hers. The musty velvet. The hard marble. Her inheritance at last. Her destiny. Zelda turned to the eyes gazing up at her, and sat down.

"Bring me those who remain," she said.

* * *

From the Castle the Rito flew, couriers again, dispatched to send word of what had happened in the Castle. Letters that read simply; _The Princess has reclaimed the Castle. She declares herself Queen with the support of Hyrule_.

Night had finally fallen when the remaining Successors and Yiga were brought into the throne room. Link stood at her side, while her envoy waited beneath the balcony.

There were barely more than a dozen. All bloodied and battered. Link ran the count in his head, and informed her that at least twenty had escaped. The bandits before her were young, she realised. Barely more than teenagers, perhaps some the same age as her. Hylians and Zora only, as well. The Gerudo had either fled or were killed, and the Rito that remained with Cinelgen were so few in number that it was possible they were all dead.

Zelda turned to her envoy, and to Link. "I would have them killed for their crimes. But what do you think?"

"For abetting Cinelgen, I agree. They are traitors," Buliara said.

"I agree," Riju echoed.

Sidon too was with her. "For the chaos they have caused, exile at least."

She did not expect Teba to object, nor Link. The Rito was firm. "They are children. Barely more than youths."

"And regardless, they are your people," Link added. "They deserve a second chance."

Zelda considered their words carefully. Some of the bandits were Yiga, she saw, dressed in the traditional red garb. They looked up at her with nothing more than fear. If they had masks, they were lost.

"You will stay and help us rebuild this place. Or else, you are free to return home to your families," Zelda decreed. Her voice felt so small in such a lofty room, but she was determined to be decisive. "Return to Cinelgen if that is what you wish - I will not keep you. But know that he is our enemy, and rejoining him makes you our enemy as well." She gestured around to the bodies that still littered the room. "And forget not what happened here."

"And don't forget that he abandoned you," Link told them. "Don't forget how he treated you - all of you."

In the end, all of the bandits elected to stay, pledging themselves into Zelda's service; with the exception of the pair of Yiga acolytes. Two young men, with wide faces. Brothers, perhaps.

"We want to go home," said one.

"Wherever that is now," said the other.

Link frowned at them. "You should have gone with Aurelia." His tone was scolding, and Zelda wondered who this _Aurelia_ was. Such a pretty name; she wondered if it belonged to a pretty face.

The brothers protested in unison. "We were afraid!" they cried. Zelda heard Link sigh, but he kept his tone clipped. She knew there was more to this story; three months worth of tales and exploits that they would need to catch each other up on.

Link spoke gently, and calm as always. He needn't even raise his voice. The whole room listened. "If you want to go home, find Aurelia. Tell her what happened here."

Together, with reverence, the Yiga brothers bowed, and they went.

* * *

It was well into the night by the time Link and Zelda finally found some rest. The envoy of Zelda's forces too had decided to stay, if only for a few days, to close their wounds and prepare for the journey home. It was only after they had all supped - raiding the kitchens and feasting in the Dining Hall - that the realisation had hit her; she was home. Home as herself, home as the Princess. The Castle may be in pieces, crawling with Malice, more a ruin than anything else. But she was here. And Link was here. She'd watched him tuck fervently into his dinner with a hidden smile, pinching herself and running her fingers through her hair to make sure she was awake.

Midnight found them standing on the balcony between her old chambers and her study. Neither had been able to sleep. Zelda had knocked on Link's door to find him still awake and scribbling in a journal. He was making plans; unable to let himself rest while he knew there was work to do, and people to save.

Zelda coaxed him away from his desk with a kiss on the back of his neck, and the promise of more if they went for a walk. Ostensibly to clear their heads; in truth she just wanted to speak to him alone.

They stood side by side, looking down towards the Gatehouses and Castle walls beyond. Zelda caught sight of a flickering light in the distance - a camp in one of the Gatehouses. Teba most likely, needing his space and his isolation.

The storm had passed a few hours prior, the wind blowing low, and silent. Above the sky was clear and filled with stars. In the quiet, Zelda wrapped a hand around Link's.

"Promise me you'll rest," she said softly. "The war can wait one night."

"Can Inglis?" Link challenged. He sighed, slumping forwards. "Sorry. I guess I'm still upset."

She gave his hand a squeeze. "We'll find him, Link. And Cinelgen too. We'll end this war once and for all."

He sighed again, and Zelda wondered what it would be like to bring his hand to her lips. Would she find callouses there? Or scars? He must have so many scars. Uncountable as the stars above them.

Cutting through her idle thoughts Link spoke again, "I just can't believe the Rito had allied with Cinelgen. I should have known when I saw Yinli. I should have said."

"Is that why you sent me there?" Zelda asked.

He shook his head. "Providence. I wanted you out of his reach. I just… had a hunch, but I had no idea it would be that complex." He unravelled his fingers from hers and leant with both hands atop the wall of the balcony, his body taut, uneased. A cold wind blew between them, and Zelda shuddered. The last of winter still clung to the air.

"You gave me a fright, you know that?" she said with a laugh, rubbing small circles into his back to try to calm him.

Link flashed her a wry smile. "Oh, no problem, Princess," he teased. "I only saved your life."

Zelda pouted, giving him a gentle pinch. "I would have been fine."

"Yeah," Link smiled, sliding an arm around the small of her back. "I know you would have."

Leaning her head against his shoulder, Zelda realised then how tall he had grown. When she said as much, he simply said, "Didn't have you weighing me down," and he winced when she elbowed him in the ribs, muttering, another bruise! Zelda laughed, cheeks full with her smile as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. Bruises be damned; this was how it should be. Just the two of them, alone, save each other. Together, at last.

He smelt of cotton and salt, sesame oil and smoke; lingering scents like memories. And he was warm, warmer even than her Rito coat, and when he kissed her his breath was hot against her cheeks. There was a loneliness that pervaded him, she realised, a hollowness to his soul, the strength of his embrace betraying a desperation. What was it he had once told her? All I have is you.

Another gust of cold air; Zelda broke away, and the protest was immediate.

"Hey, hey," Link murmured needily. "Where do you think you're going?"

As if she had any intention of leaving now. Zelda took him by the hand, leading him towards her study. "Somewhere quiet," she said, realising what he needed. What they both wanted.

They closed the door behind them, and the room was lit only by the soft glow of her hand and the sapphire radiance of a single Silent Princess growing in the corner. She walked over to her desk, removing her heavy coat and straightening out her high chemise. Link leant against the door, watching, and when she turned she saw his eyes dart away from her. He was looking at me, she realised lewdly.

Zelda stood against her desk, but the knight did not move. Caught between present and past. Anticipation and apprehension. She nodded for him to join her again. "Don't you think we've waited long enough?"

"Is that an order?" Link asked.

"I am the Queen, aren't I?" she said with a laugh. "You should bow before me."

Link's eyes never left hers. Mischievous and wild, they were; calm waters caught fire. He raised a hand to the bolt on the door, and slid it shut.

Three long strides took him across the room to her, and he braced his hands at edge of her desk, leaning in close, capturing her with his mouth.

Something broke between them then; months of longing coming to a head, the swell of the storm. Being alone together no longer enough. The air was thick and heady between them, the cool supplanted where they connected. Link's hands quickly found her hips, lifting her onto the desk. She laughed again, drawing him in close, giggles turning to gasps as Link planted a row of feather-light kisses from her neck to her ear.

"As you wish," he whispered.

And he sank to his knees on the stone.


	19. Exigency

It had not been what she expected.

Not the Castle. Not the assault. And especially not the aftermath. But then - on reflection - what course of action, what purpose laid down, had not been derailed by chaos, or chance? _At least you are here_ , Zelda told herself. _Here at last_.

Here with Link. That was what she had wanted. Just to be alone with him - _truly_ alone - but it had become something more. Much more. Maybe it was the longing. Maybe it was the bruises and scars they shared. Maybe it was the feeling that they had never been anyone but who they were in that moment, just two kids desperate for each other and for some respite from the casual savagery of the world around them. But whatever the cause, the result had been something primal and frantic - Link, clumsy and still half-clothed, taking her against that old desk at her urging, punctuated by nervous laughter and whisperings of _can I, can we_ and _Goddess, yes, I think, yes, don't think, just, just…_

And even the thought of that made her blush, even now, especially now, and shake herself to make sense of it, and what they had done. _Hardly Queenly of you_ , she thought, but then she wasn't really Queen. Nothing made her Royal. Nothing made her a _lady_. The Royal Family were all gone, and her titles and claims with it. She was an _heir to nothing_ \- a nothing which no longer included any expectations of how she should behave. The Calamity may have taken all she had been, but in return, it had given her some freedom.

What little freedom she had; there was always work to be done. A Castle to repair. A Kingdom to rebuild. A traitor to smoke out. A Knight to rediscover. And eventually, maybe, a crown to wear.

Zelda stepped into the Hyrule Castle Library with stride. Work was welcome; work had kept her alive in those early months with Link, and in those months without. She caught an early morning sunbeam in her palm and turned to survey the long, dilapidated hall. The broken floor crunched under her boot, and the air was thick with the smell of reverence, and the must of age, and the faintest metallic hint of blood. So much to be salvaged here; hundreds of books that could still be readable. There was time, just enough, a few more minutes before she would be needed in the throne room.

And then, with a smile teasing on her lips, Zelda turned to the boy standing at her side, who was gazing up at the grid of old books in quiet awe.

"Before you start, could you remind me how Magnesis works?" she asked, holding out the Shiekah Slate.

Dutifully, breezily making her blush once again with no more than a simper, Link took the Slate from her hands and began once again to explain.

* * *

The titles were faded, obscured by dust and time. Link scanned the tomes with squinting eyes, head cocked to one side, tonguing a tooth and mentally repeating the word he sought; _guardians, guardians, guardians._

He stood on the upper level of the Library, leaning lazily against the railing and anxiously thumbing a corner of his tunic. He was in a dual state. Mind half here; half there. First with the books before him, searching for information that could further his work with Rhoamet, and then, with Zelda as he kept a curious eye on her endeavours to test the Magnesis Rune on the bookshelves of the Hyrule Castle Library.

He rolled his shoulders, letting his mind wander, cataloguing the dull ache in his muscles. It was a fond ache though; the ache of battle, of a dance, of a song. With the Sword over his shoulder, the crossbow at his hip and his Champion tunic at his back, the ache was as familiar as it was fond. And miraculously, the tunic still fit. He'd never part with it now - not since it had become so redolent of her. Not since she'd been wearing it the evening before, back where his duelling mind was so eager to wander, when they had…

There was a clank below him as Zelda wrenched one of the old bookcases forwards with the Magnesis rune, revealing an antechamber beneath the curved stairs at the far side of the room. "Interesting…" he heard her mutter.

Link tried to focus back on the books. They had come here for a purpose after all; it had occurred to him the night before that there might be something in the Library about Guardians - perhaps some research notes. But he doubted it, somehow. The Shiekah's research had always been elusive, like the Shiekah themselves. He remembered that it was never spoken of in public, or in court. Only in private meetings, in quiet whispers. Not the kind of thing that would be published.

He blinked away a receding weariness, unable to concentrate. Every word was her; the titles on the spines, the blurbs of the heavy tomes he flipped through. They spoke her name. Every pause brought him back to her side, back to that study, bringing a yearning for something close but not close enough - not anymore.

Link abandoned his search and made for the antechamber.

There was a stillness to the small room that gave the impression of having been sealed, as though rot and decay of Hyrule Castle had not come to this place. The walls were a rich burgundy, the carpet lush, though there was little more to be found than a reading desk, and some darkly patterned shields, strewn about the floor like forgotten socks. A Royal Guard's shield, he remembered. For a time he had carried one of these, though it was more ornamental than practical. Faintly and with chagrin, he recalled dropping one, and watching it shatter at his feet, Otra's voice in his head once more; _These fucking shields, useless, just like everything else those Sheikah give us._

"I've never even seen this room before," Zelda said as she searched the drawers of the desk. "It was hidden, it seems. Maybe this is where the Sheikah left their notes before the Calamity?"

"Hopefully," Link replied as he examined the make of one of the shields.

He heard the rustling of paper and saw that Zelda had found a large, leather-bound diary, so ponderous that she held with both hands. When she plied through the stiff pages to the inner leaf, she gasped. "This…this is…" her fingers dug into the leather binding. "My father's…"

Link went to her side, peering over her shoulder to read the contents of the journal;

 _Today, as the sun rose and a new day was born, my daughter, too, joined this sweet world. In keeping with the traditions of the royal family, I have decided to name her… Zelda._

"Oh…" he murmured. "Oh, no."

Voice trembling, eyes glassy with the threat of tears, Zelda began to read aloud. " _If the Ganon prophecy wasn't looming over our heads, I would tell her to take her time... To wait until she is ready.._." She paused, collecting herself, and turned the pages as though they were as heavy as stone. _"I'd love nothing more than to console her... But I must stay strong. Even if she comes to despise me..._ "

She could not go on, slumping forward with resignation. Link placed his hands under hers, and they held the weight of the journal together. For a moment he wanted to take it from her, to shield her, protect her from any harm that could come for her. But the past belonged to them both; he could not demand it from her if he could not let her have it for herself. "Do you want to keep reading?" he asked.

Sniffling, Zelda raised her head and nodded. She spoke slowly, with regal detachment.

" _I have been told my Zelda went to the Spring of Wisdom_. _If she comes back without success, then I shall speak kindly with her. P-perhaps…_ " she blinked at the words, unfathoming, her voice fading to a whisper. " _Perhaps, I should encourage her to keep researching her beloved relics. They may just lead her to answers I can't provide. For now, I sit anxiously. I sit... and await my daughter's return_."

When she was done, Zelda closed the diary and held it to her chest. She closed her eyes, hands crossed about the book as if in prayer. As if somehow, Rhoam might hear.

"You old fool," she muttered, two lonely, stubborn tears on her cheeks. They crept into the spaces where her skin cracked; where the winter chill had marred her skin, roughened her like tanned leather. He wondered if his skin was the same.

"I wish we had spoken…" Zelda told the journal. "I wish you had told me how you felt."

Link drew her in close, and she pressed her face in against his tunic to dry her tears.

Zelda spoke into his chest. "When I was a girl, all I ever heard was how prosperous my father's reign was. All the knowledge and power he amassed. I thought it came so naturally to him, as though the gods had chosen him. But I never understood… the pressure that drove him. And the fear." She raised her head. A sunbeam caught her hair, crowning her. It was the only gold she wore, now. "I'm so afraid, Link. I know nothing about ruling."

The sight of her was arresting. The thaw had come, unmasking them both, it seemed. How could he tell her? That he felt as though they had finally met? Link grasped her by the shoulders, fingers padding the tense muscles of her shoulders through her thick Rito coat.

"Well, you're not alone," he said.

"No, not anymore," She chuckled, and clutched the journal tighter in her arms, and it occurred to Link then just how much of their shared past could be contained within those pages. _Words of my father? His name? His face?_ He couldn't help but wonder. Link needed a name to that haunting, disapproving voice.

There was a flustered sigh from the Library entrance, and both Link and Zelda turned to see Larella jogging over to the entrance of the antechamber.

"There you are, Your Grace, Champion," she said, stopping to bow. When she saw their close embrace, she pulled back from the doorway, bowing again. "M-my apologies. You are needed."

Leaving the Library and its secrets behind, they followed the Ambassador through the Castle.

* * *

The Spring rains had come, drizzling across the Castle grounds, washing away most of the damage - and the bloodshed - caused by the assault. Zelda's new devotees had begun to clean what the rain could not. They were Cinelgen's former followers, now hers for the sake of survival. Her first subjects; Hylians, once wanderers. She promised them a home so long as they helped build it.

Regrettably, however, their first job was the grisly task of giving rest to the dead, and the casualties had not been few. Zelda counted ten dead of her own; two Zora, six Rito, and two Gerudo. But most of the dead wore neckerchiefs, she noted, and had sprouted arrows from their necks, their chests, and temples too. Quick deaths, she assured herself.

She offered that the dead be buried in the holt of twisting evergreens that surrounded the Sacred Grounds - all of them, even the traitors. _The fallen are now the innocents of war, no matter the side they fought for_ , she had said.

It was a gesture of unity. _The first of many that will be needed_ , Link had advised when she announced her decision.

And as Larella led them into the courtyard between the two Gatehouses, she knew that his advice was sound. A bitter argument was brewing, discordant shouts, and grumbles cutting through the rain.

Each new Champion stood with their followers waiting anxiously in tow, fighting for a word in edgewise. And at the centre, the nexus of the disagreement, was the white-feather Rito warrior, and the little Gerudo Chief.

Buliara stood imposingly at Riju's back, claymore not far from reach, and Riju mirrored her bodyguard's stance; wide legged, heels driving a sharp point into the still blood splattered pavement. She was pointing, her golden gloved hand accusing. "When exactly were you going to tell us?"

"It didn't change the outcome, did it?" Teba retorted.

Link and Zelda pushed through the anxious crowd while Larella sidled in next to Sidon. The Zora Prince had his arms crossed, while at his side Yunobo held a gormless, perpetually concerned expression on his wide face.

"Why are you fighting?" Zelda demanded.

They all spoke at once, until Zelda held up a hand. From the silence, Sidon was the first to speak, the gravity in his voice giving her pause. "It has come to our attention that the Rito were recently allied with Cinelgen."

"Allied?" Riju scoffed. "The Rito aided and abetted a traitor - a war monger." She faced the Rito warrior as though she were as hardened, battle-worn, and indeed as tall as he was. "Have you any idea what he has done to my people, to my home?"

Teba scowled, squinting down at her as though she were a pest. "Have you any idea what he did to _mine_? I almost lost my wife!"

"Yet you claim innocence," Sidon challenged. "If your wife was aiding Cinelgen, why didn't you know?"

The warrior bristled. "That's a personal question."

"I just don't see how we can trust you," Riju frowned, and Teba turned back to her with a wing held ready as if to seize her. Buliara, as graceful as she was forceful, stepped calmly in between then.

She met Teba's eye line, the tension all but diffused, though her words were directed at both of the duelling Champions. "We gain nothing by fighting."

"Indeed, Buliara." Zelda gave an affirming nod, grateful for the imposing woman's presence. She felt as though she could do nothing but watch the alliance she had built crumble against the pride of its members and the paranoia that pervaded them. She could be falling again, with no ground beneath her feet, and she would feel more assured than she did right now. "We need to find Cinelgen," Zelda said, to convince herself as much as anyone else.

"But where would he be?" Yunobo piped up, solid fingers pawing his Goron amulet. He passed an open glance to the fields beyond the Castle. "Hyrule is enormous, and he's just one man."

"Exactly," Link interjected, all eyes shifting onto him. "He's just one man, but Cinna had people everywhere. People who we can find, and interrogate."

"People everywhere, you say?" Riju asked. Her eyes found Teba when she said, "How do you know that Cinelgen doesn't have people here?"

"Oh, get off," the Rito sneered. The crowd simmered, mumbling and whispering, their faces ruffled by the wind, by the tension interlaced between them. _This is what Cinelgen would want_ , Zelda told herself. She pressed in closer between Riju and Teba.

"I will have no blind accusations on my grounds. Hyrule has had its fill of those. Cinelgen could be as far as Karusa Valley by the time we finish squabbling!"

"We came to rescue Link," Sidon reminded her. "And we _did_. Larella and I have our own battles to fight at the Domain. I am still powerless to truly help you."

Teba nodded at the Zora Prince. "I have my people to protect at home."

Even Riju agreed. "And mine too."

"This war will not end without Cinelgen," Zelda implored, gaze shifting between the Champions.

"Then you should have killed him," Teba countered. "A _dagger_ , Zelda, not a hammer. Wasn't that what you said?"

"I've changed my mind," she said, gaze shifting between the four Champions before her. "I need him _alive_ to convince all of your people that _he_ is the cause of this war."

Teba dismissed her with a simple flick of his wing. "You are at war, death is inevitable."

"Is that why your people allied with Cinelgen?" Sidon frowned. "Was it _inevitable_?"

That was all it took. Like rabid hounds, they began to snap at each other, hungry for scraps. "Aren't you the one starving out _her_ people?" Teba replied.

"If anything, she started it when she locked the Zora out of her city." Sidon pointed down at Riju. She pivoted on her heel as if struck, quickly retaliating.

"And how did your people solve that problem?" she hissed. "You tried to attack our Divine Beast!"

"They were no more my people than Cinelgen is yours!" Sidon insisted. "Just as the Zora besieging your home are not mine."

"And I am not the idiots who allied Cinna!" Teba added.

" _ENOUGH!"_ Zelda bellowed, her voice feeling like thunder. _Did… did I just do that?_ Zelda redoubled her argument. "All of that is past! If we cannot work together, Cinelgen wins no matter what!"

Riju had her hands on her hips, unyielding. "And how do we do that?"

Link, who had been standing at her side in a pensive silence, spoke at last. He looked to the Zora Prince. "Sidon, what did you mean by battles at home?"

Larella's face lit up, and she leapt at the opportunity to speak. "Sidon is the rightful King of Zora's Domain. We found a loophole in his dethroning," she nodded to Riju. "And he has no qualms with the Gerudo. If we can re-crown him, he can end the war in a single decree."

Sidon raised his hand as if to pat her on the back, but for some reason, he hesitated. Instead, he curled his fingers into a fist and grinned. "Larella is quite knowledgeable with this! It won't be easy, but I believe we can manage."

"Then you can do your part from there," Link said, and he and Zelda exchanged a look.

In an instant, she understood his tactic. Working together without working _together_.

Collected, with solid spine, Zelda tightened her grip on her Father's journal. "Return home then, all of you," she instructed, before turning to Teba and his Rito. "We could use scouts. Your best flyers, but no more than five. Make them a network. If they see him, they will ensure word reaches the Castle."

"Easily done," Teba said with a nod, and immediately the Rito at his back began to whisper among themselves, speculating on who would be chosen.

Zelda gave Link a surreptitious nod. _Your turn._ He looked to the Gerudo.

"Riju - Gerudo is already blocked off. But Cinna might head for Karusa through the Highlands. Can you send scouts?"

Riju placed a slender hand to her lips; stumped, she looked to Buliara. The bodyguard passed a glance back to her guardswomen. "We can spare one or two," she informed them.

"And then we need a team to find him. Quick movers, powerful too, but not too many. A force moves too slow, it can't adapt," Link went on, an idle finger tracing his chin. Zelda could not help but hear the words in her mind; _a strategist, through and through_. When she returned her focus to the crowd, she realised that all eyes were on them.

"You can't mean _us_?" she protested frantically. "There's only two of us. Cinelgen could have as many as thirty with him!"

"Then we take Rhoamet," Link suggested, his voice an immediate, pacifying presence.

" _Are you sure?_ " Zelda asked with slackened jaw. Crossing the country, travelling again, but with that ancient beast of his? She could not imagine it, but Link just shrugged.

"He'll slow us down, sure," he admitted. "But with a Guardian, we'll never be ambushed, and we can drive off Cinna's forces with intimidation alone."

Zelda's mind raced, latching onto yet another concern. "And what of the Castle? We are yet to bury those who fell to reclaim it - would we leave it unguarded so soon?"

Link opened his mouth to argue, but it was Yunobo who answered. "We can guard it," he offered through a round-lipped grin, and behind him, his Goron brothers were nodding, thumping their chests. "Your Hylians, plus my brawlers. We'll shut the gates and let no one in but you, Princess!"

Zelda took a deep breath, trying once again to ground herself; to find a presence amongst the uncertainty. The faces of the Champions encircled her, waiting with expectant expressions for her answer. She held her Father's journal tight under her arm. This was what it meant to rule, she knew - to feel the weight of duty.

Her eyes met Link's, and Zelda searched those two pools of calming blue for the certainty she needed. They were unmoving, unphased. It would have to be enough.

"It is settled then," she finally said, extending her right hand towards the centre of the circle. "You do your part, and we will do ours."

One by one, hand over wing over fin, the rest of her Champions followed suit.

* * *

Less than three nights after the capture of Hyrule Castle, the fortress was nearly vacated once more. Link watched from the battlements above the main gates as the Zora, and the Rito departed for home. The sun was out, and the air almost heady with newfound warmth. At his side, Rhoamet sat quietly, having climbed up the battlements to meet him. _Hello_ , he had said, settling into to survey the fields below. Was he keeping watch? Or just observing? Was he curious, even?

Link wanted to ask, to talk to his automaton, but his mind was uneased. A winter living under the Cinelgen's thumb had taught him not to underestimate the Gerudo, even now. As Link thought on the journey ahead, all manner of unsettling thoughts and scenarios came to him. _What if Cinna means to retake the Castle when we leave? What if our loyalists betray us? What if Karusa becomes a trap? What if… what if..._

The only remedy was to prepare for each one. Notes and plans, possibilities and probabilities; he spent a lot of time writing, and his notebook was almost full.

"Still a brooder, I see."

Link spun on his heel, and like an apparition, there she was. Leaning against Rhoamet's shell, her arms crossed and her sleeves rolled, Zelda giggled at his shocked expression. She wore her old white blouse and had unbuttoned it at the top, her Rito coat tied around her waist. Running a hand across Rhoamet's patterned swirls, she looked up into the automaton's eye with a warm smile. "He just won't leave your side, will he?"

"I can't keep him away," Link said. "Even up here. He's a better climber than I imagined."

Zelda hummed in agreement, and reached up to adjust her braids; as her shirt moved, Link noticed the small seam at the shoulder where it had been repaired. _Where she was stabbed by Milagre._

"Teba isn't staying, as much as I asked," she said sadly, her eyes hooded as she followed Rhoamet's line of sight down to Hyrule Field. "But he has his family, of course."

"I wanted to thank him for looking after you, but…" Link smirked, noting the well-made bow she wore at her back. "Well, from what I heard, you did most of the work."

The praise went unnoticed. "I had help. From Kass, from you." She joined him at the battlements. " _You_ were alone."

"I had Inglis, in the end. And this old thing." He gave one of Rhoamet's legs a gentle kick. The Guardian's head locked in his direction, though if it was offended he would not know. Link went on, words leaden, "And… I recovered some memories too. One in the garden that was here. And some stuff about Mipha."

Zelda chortled. " _Some stuff about Mipha_." She shook her head. "So you finally remembered _that,_ did you?"

Link tensed. So she had known the whole time. "Yeah _..._ " he sighed.

She pursed her lips, hollowed cheeks drawn in, but her voice was full with regret. "I'm sorry that it happened, and sorry that I couldn't tell you, but it was _your_ past, not mine." She met his eyes then, and he saw something accusing in her glare. "Still, I should have boxed your ears. Those days before the Calamity were hard for everyone. You ought to have seized happiness wherever you could."

Link smiled, in spite of himself, and in spite of the solemn topic. _I knew this would happen_ , he thought. It almost felt like a victory. _I knew it!_ He leant against the battlement, resting his arms on the walls, working hard to seem casual and unseeming; but he was pleasantly surprised at how easy it felt to be in her company again.

"Are you happy now?" he asked without thinking. She laughed again, but bitterly this time, and turned her gaze back towards the fields, and Link understood her answer. They stood in silence, soaking in the sun, until Zelda placed a hand on Link's arm.

"Would you like to talk about what happened, the other night?" She asked quietly. "We won't have much time after we depart."

Link swallowed, fighting to keep his air of ease. "I was just... waiting for you," he told her, not quite believing his words. "I'm sorry, if it wasn't quite what you..." He trailed off, suddenly uncertain. "I didn't want to pressure you."

She quirked a brow. "Pressure me? As I remember, _I_ invited you into my study. But I suppose..." She gave an exaggerated shrug. "You started it, with that... _thing_ you did, with your mouth."

Link felt a thrum of warmth in his belly. That thing he'd done. It was a dream now, the boldness of it a mystery; lips against her bare thighs, but closer, and closer, and closer… He couldn't think what had inspired him, but the way his name had caught like a breath in her throat had been a reward in itself.

"I just..." Zelda was looking at him expectantly, so he searched for something to say that wouldn't sound foolish, but ultimately gave up, shrugging. "I liked it."

She laughed, high and musical, and Link felt all of the tension leave his shoulders. She moved closer, and when she spoke next, her voice was low and rich, but with quiet candour. "I did too," she said, intertwining a hand in his. "I'm sorry it wasn't somewhere… nicer."

"It was plenty nice," Link grinned. He gave her hand a concerned squeeze, feeling the roughness where callouses were beginning to form. "...you're not worried, are you? That it might have been improper?"

She groaned, squeezing his hand in return before bringing it to her chin, lips pressed against the knuckles. "Let's not think about that. Let's just do what makes us happy."

"These are hard times after all…" Link teased.

Zelda ignored him. "We can sort out what's proper when I really have a crown on my head. But first is finding Cinelgen, and finding your friend."

Link looked back out from the battlements, his eyes settling on the flat mesas and longline cliffs of Gerudo, unhappy to be reminded of Inglis' dire situation. "Then that's what we'll do," he said, more to assure himself than her. "Wherever they are."

* * *

The lethargic roll of their oar boat was what woke Inglis. Not the _heave-ho_ of the rowers, not the pain in the right side of his head, not even the soft and gentle voice above him, cooing platitudes and apologies, _wake soon, sweet Inglis, forgive me, please_. No. It was the churning of his stomach that signalled to Inglis his survival, as well as the faint memory of how much he hated ships and hated water. But he was glad to wake with Milagre above him and his head cradled in her lap. A throb of pain at his right side made Inglis reach for his face, where he found a damp bandage. A laugh caught in his chest; Aurelia would never let him hear the end of it if she saw him. _I am as blind as you are deaf_. He could hear her voice. He could hear her teasing him. Inglis looked where he could, and drifting past he saw the rain soaked banks of Hylia River and the mist-laden trees of the forests beyond.

"Are you in pain?" came the husky voice from above. Milagre was smiling down at him, hair frizzed from the rain, face pale, a little bloodied still. He tried to speak but the words came out as croaks, and she shushed him, leaning down to kiss his brow, the side of his face, the corner of his lips. "Never mind. Sleep, sweet Inglis," she said, and wrapped in her arms he almost did, until a burst of red caught his eye.

A flame against the dreariness, Cinna's hair hung limply about his head, the colour nearly snuffed out by the rain and mist. He was wrapped in his velvet cloak, crouched at the bow, ruminating.

"What happened?" Inglis finally managed to mutter. He remembered… fighting. And then falling. A Beast in the sky and waters below. The rest was blank. What had happened at the Castle? Was Link okay? Where were they? Milagre ran a hand along his cheek.

"I should not have turned on you," she sighed, her nose pressed against his. "Perhaps then you would have fought harder. Fought for _me_."

" _What happened?_ " Inglis repeated, squirming, kicking, boots clunking against the wooden floor of the boat. Cinelgen turned, and the crew shifting around him, as if in avoidance.

Milagre frowned. "Your friend won, sweet Inglis. And he _hurt_ you."

 _Link?_ Inglis winced at the pain in his ear, the memory returning. A glint of steel, a wide blade. _Link's blade_. He could hardly believe it but the memory was there. The Knight before him, in a tunic of blue and white, roaring as he brought his sword across Inglis' ear.

"I'm sorry. For everything," Milagre said, pushing the hair from his eyes, her grip the only thing abetting his shock. "But I'm here. Cinna is here. He saved you, helped you escape. And now, we will always have each other."

Inglis shivered, clinging to Milagre for support. Cinna had moved to sit beside them. "On the road again! Just like old times, hey?" he said. "We're not far, just a few more days south."

The Gerudo's green eyes practically sparkled, but Inglis saw the melancholy beneath. Wildness and abandon were what drove Cinna. But with no focus it would break him, Inglis knew, sending him spiralling into himself. He forgot his friend's crimes then.

"I'm sorry, Cinna," Inglis croaked. "I'm sorry… sorry, it came to this."

Cinna's grip slackened, but his facade did not break. "I never wanted that Castle, anyway. We should have burnt it down!"

"That's what I said," Milagre scolded. "We should have left nothing for that _Princess._ "

"Heading around a bend!" one of the rowers called, and the boat began to sidle in towards a muddy shore, banking sharply against the current.

"Well, I don't envy her," Cinelgen admitted. "The throne is not a fun place to sit. It made me paranoid. Fearful." He ruffled Inglis' hair and then stopped to adjust his bandages. "I'm not angry, you know. I wanted Link's friendship too. And you only went to him because of how we were treating you."

The Gerudo reached an arm around Milagre and pulled her into a solidary embrace. "Well, no more. We're a family - a trio!"

"Get off," Milagre whined, playfully pushing herself free. "You're _insane_."

"I was!" Cinna laughed, grappling her back, holding them both tighter. "But I think I'm done now. No throne is worth the madness it brought."

"We could go back," Inglis said, suddenly hopeful. He looked up and saw their smiling faces, wanting to capture them somehow. "We don't need to run anymore. If you surrendered, if you admitted-"

Cinna's face fell. "They'll kill me."

"You don't know that."

There was no telling if Inglis was right. His right temple throbbed again; it had to have been an accident. Link could not have hurt him. Not deliberately, or without cause. Hadn't they been friends? All of them? Wasn't that the only thing any of them had wanted? He did not want to go to Karusa. He wanted to go home.

The boat shook as it rolled over a swirling eddy, the rowers heaving their oars through the water to push through the turn. Cinelgen barked an order, and soon the boat was back on course.

"Link would accept you," Inglis said. "I know it." He expected nothing more from Cinna then; he expected that his ideas would be ignored as so often had been.

But that laughing smile flickered again on Cinelgen's lips, and he hummed. "Perhaps he would."

* * *

Down the line of horses, the goggles were passed. From the ridge of Nephra Hill, far away enough to remain hidden, Link, Zelda and the Gerudo surveyed the siege of the Geldarm Bridge with the aid of Robbie's Sheikah goggles. Link recalled crossing it when it was still under construction, and he recalled the pride with which Buliara had described it to him. A bridge of solid sandstone to connect Gerudo with the rest of Hyrule. But all it was now was a site of war...

Activity on both sides was sparse, aside from the patrols of Zora warriors and Gerudo guards alike. The Zora spanned the entire north side of the bridge and its surrounds; two dozen tents, numerous fires, rows of weapons and shields, ready to be seized for battle. The Gerudo camp was by comparison barely a camp at all. A handful of tents, guarded by stakes and wooden barricades of felled palm trees, arranged like rows of jumping jacks.

"As you can see, we are in a precarious position," Riju panned, her chest heaving a long sigh. "If Sidon does not call them off, they will never leave. And every day they move further across."

Link's horse shifted anxiously, and he ran a hand through its mane. _No need to fret,_ he wanted to tell it, but could not shake the familiar, impending anxiety. Another standoff.

Rhoamet stood at his left, watching the scene below with a vacant eye. Zelda sat atop her horse on his right, the goggles in hand. "When we find Cinelgen and convince the Zora to leave, he will be yours," she decreed.

Builiara did not seem placated. "And if you do not find him? What then?"

"I don't know," Zelda admitted. "But we will adapt. Link and I have become masters of the art."

The Knight turned researcher. The Princess turned warrior. That didn't seem right to Link. He wasn't just a researcher, nor was Zelda just a warrior.

There was no time to ponder further. Below the Zora on the bridge shifted forward, and the Gerudo on the far end sprang into action. They raised their golden bows in warning, but no arrows were fired. The Zora did not move. From the ridge, the scene was a diorama; a performance, in a state of constant intermission.

"I almost want them to fight," Riju said. "Get it over with. Tears us to pieces. But let us die, at least."

"They could have," Link said bluntly. Heads turned in his direction; half a dozen pairs of eyes, and one - Rhoamet sat ready, eager at the sound of his master's voice. "So, why haven't they?"

"They mean to cut us off, starve us, punishment for our actions towards their envoy," Buliara explained. "But the Gerudo can endure alone. It is the fear that strangles us."

Riju echoed her bodyguard's concern. "Someday soon, their patience could run out," she mused. "If Sidon does not return. If Cinelgen is nowhere to be found. It's all I can think about."

The little Chief's desperation was unsettling, not in the least because it was justified. She had always seemed so in control – even with Vah Naboris threatening her city, or with the Zora at her gates. But she was time worn, now. A wind hewn cliff face – once bold, crumbling now to reveal the fine sands beneath.

Zelda sensed Riju's anxiousness. "Would your people feel more secure with their Divine Beast returned to them?" Zelda asked. She had drawn the Shiekah Slate from her belt, a schematic of Vah Naboris on the screen.

Link leaned in his saddle, neck craned to better see the screen. He had meant to ask Zelda if he could borrow it to perform a diagnostic on Rhoamet.

"The Gerudo would be very appreciative of such a gesture," Riju said with bowed head. "You would require Buliara to pilot her, no?"

A look passed between Zelda and Buliara then, and even from the far side of the group Link saw the bodyguard's gaze that struck him as maternal. She nodded, and so Zelda answered, smiling down at the little Chief.

"Not Buliara, no."

* * *

With the Geldarm Bridge inaccessible, the party were forced to travel through the Gerudo Highlands, re-entering the desert at the Desert Gateway. Their progress was slow, though thankfully the onset of spring alleviated the snowfall. Curiously, the Gerudo had not much more than cloaks to ward the chill - their usual silken, light-cut clothes unchanged. Where Zelda shivered, the Gerudo seemed almost aloof to the cold, their heads perched high, as if they could look down their noses at the very weather. When asked, Riju put it down to Gerudo hardiness.

"My people are survivors, suited to the harshest of conditions. More so than any other race. This cold will not kill us, so why baulk?"

Hardiness was indeed what they needed. The desert seemed even more brutal than before. When they passed Kara Kara Bazaar, they found it abandoned; its traders having packed up and moved into the city.

Once they reached the town gates, Link took the Sheikah Slate and teleported to Vah Naboris, where she was still sat with the sandstorms of the south. He was still her inducted pilot and could march her back to the outskirts of Gerudo Town where Zelda, Riju and Buliara would meet him.

In return for their aid with Naboris, Riju offered Link and Zelda a royal apartment each within the palace of Gerudo Town - which they sadly had to turn down.

"There's no time, we need to make haste to Karusa," Zelda said as they approached Gerudo Town, frowning inwardly. She had been looking forward to a night in a warm bed. _And perhaps, a night not spent alone_.

"Of course," Riju nodded.

While they waited, Riju convinced Zelda to at least enter the town to rest, and recuperate in preparation for the Cleansing Ritual. The streets of Gerudo Town were nearly as empty as Kara Kara, with only a handful of stalls open, and barely any goods stocked.

"Little Chief!" an old crone called from her stall of charred and ageing looking meats. "Little Chief! Another day without news?"

Riju spoke gracefully, though her clouded face betrayed her fury and shame. "None, Vera! My apologies!"

The crone spat, her voice shrill as she whined. "Again! Are you a Chief or a mouse, when will you drive them back? How long before they storm our city? How can we trade with no customers?"

Buliara broke from the group of returning Gerudo and reached menacingly for her dagger. "How can you talk with no tongue!?" she hissed. "Remember to whom you speak!" The woman spat again, but fell silent.

After a tense afternoon tea of chilled Hydromelon juice taken in Riju's throne room, a guardswoman finally signalled that Naboris had been spotted on the horizon. Zelda, Riju and Buliara sped along the dunes to meet the Beast, pulled each by a dutiful sand seal - Zelda was surprised to find she had not lost the knack for it, remembering the training Urbosa had put her through just to keep her from falling each half a mile. _You just need a strong core_ , she had always said. _The rest is instinct after that. Let your muscles do the work that your brain cannot_. So many teachings. No wonder she had begun to forget. As they skirted through the sand, Rhoamet followed happily behind, and Zelda was impressed at his ability to keep pace, marvelling as his long, segmented legs hopped across the shifting dunes.

Once Naboris had been lowered to the ground, Link disembarked, greeting them with a wide and happy wave, before stopping to wipe the sweat from his brow. In the meantime, Rhoamet had walked himself around to the front of the Beast, and was looking up at its flat face. He was blinking something, a series of patterns that Zelda could not quite read. Sheikah Code, but too fast for her to understand.

"What's he saying?" she asked Link.

He approached his Guardian and squinted, eyes hard as he focused. "No… i, n… No infantry, zero."

"'No infantry zero'?"

"That's what he's saying," Link shrugged. "It's a new one."

"We had better get to work!" Buliara called from the entrance. "High noon approaches. Soon it will be too hot to remain outside!"

Zelda gently nudged Link towards Naboris' curved double doors, and they went with Riju and Buliara to the main control unit at the centre of her cylindrical inner chamber. As if by habit, Link drew his sword and held it out for Zelda, the blade pointed down, and his hands wrapped tight around the hilt.

"Just like old times," he grinned as she placed her hands over his. Zelda closed her eyes to begin the ritual.

* * *

Eerie similarity; that sense of emptiness. The void where time would be. She was here again, and the voice confirmed it;

"Ah, Princess, you return."

Zelda opened her eyes to darkness - pervasive and pressing against her, making an other of her presence. The Master Sword was in her hand, and there was water at her feet; a shallow pool, ink black and viscous as honey. _What happened here?_

Looking ahead, she met with the uncomfortable glare of the _woman._ Her mirror image. The fragment. "Just as I knew you would," the woman went on.

"Just as you knew…?" Zelda asked, aware suddenly of how cold the air was here.

With a long sweep of her arm, the woman gestured around them. "It is as I said. This is a place outside of time; unbound. _That_ once made it sacred."

Zelda looked around, open eyes trying to latch onto some form or familiarity, but there was simply nothing to see. "You told me that _memory_ dwells here," she said. "But I don't see anything. At all."

"Then perhaps we need a little light," the woman offered. She raised her own right hand and tapped where the golden symbol would be. Cautiously, resting the sword in the crook of her arm, Zelda unfastened her glove and revealed the mark on her hand. The light it gave off revealed the sights around them; two pillars of stone flanking a pedestal, and a long walkway leading up to it. Around her, the sky had begun to brighten, tinged gold and purple, as though an eternal dusk beset this place.

"See?" The woman approached the pedestal, her long hair and wafty white dress flowing like water behind her. "Much still remains. The memories most of all."

Zelda followed. "Memories? Whose?"

"Everyones. The history of Hyrule flows through here." The woman placed her hands on the pedestal, gazing down at it with great intent. "This is a nexus of time, all times and all places converging _here_. Every possible you and every possible him. We can find them all. Would you like to sail the seas? Fly through the skies? Walk through walls or run like a beast?"

The woman's words were dizzying, as was the beauty of the realm around them. Zelda remembered then where she had been before; with Link, and Riju and Buliara. This place was folly, as bewitching as it was. She had real problems to deal with, back where time flowed, and the skies were blue.

"How do I know this isn't a dream?" she demanded.

The woman sighed. "I knew this would happen. It always does. But I prepared something just for this. You are on your way to Karusa Valley?"

Zelda nodded.

"Then watch carefully. Forget nothing. And understand the power this place contains."

Zelda opened her mouth to protest, but the woman disappeared, and so did the light in her hand - it was usurped, torn from beneath her and replaced by the swaths of red earth and black sky, as well as the taste of dust in her mouth.

She was stood atop a thin, winding valley that jutted into a wall of cliffs, lit only by torchlight. All around her were watchers; bandits, in blue and white neckerchiefs, crouched low at the edges of the valley walls. "This is Karusa! _"_ Zelda cried out, but her words were unheard. _And this must be a vision, then_.

Scanning the scene, she saw the Yiga Hideout just beyond. A cacophony of shouts rang out, and Zelda watched with open mouth as, from the Hideout entrance, Cinelgen came running, dressed in tatters, his face bloodied. He brought two fingers to his lips, the whistle echoing against the earthen walls, returned by a long blare from a horn. On his heels, appearing from every direction were Yiga, with curved sickles and dark red garb. But with the horn blast, the bandits around her jolted into action, loosing arrows down into the valley. The Yiga fell, and those that found their way atop the valley were soon overwhelmed. Some of them stumbled, moving sluggishly, almost clumsily, and Zelda realised; they were drunk! Inebriated and surprised, the Yiga stood no chance.

She ran along the valley edge, towards the entrance of the Hideout, passing through the bandits of the vision. Reaching the entrance, she saw them; the spear-wielder, dressed in draped formal garb, and the Hylian Inglis. They stood close, lips almost touching, until the Yiga woman departed back to the Hideout, and Inglis took off into the valley.

The rest of the vision was almost unfathomable; what seemed to be a group of four Yiga Elders burst from the Hideout with Milagre at their backs. One tried to flee, but Milagre cut him down. The rest were executed one by one with an arrow from Cinelgen's painted bow. When it was done, he, Milagre and Inglis rounded up the youngest Yiga and marched them out of the valley.

"A massacre," came the woman's voice. "The day the Yiga Clan all but ceased to exist."

The vision of the valley fell away, leaving Zelda in darkness once again, except for the blinding white light as the woman appeared before her.

"When did this happen?" she asked.

"You are not far from Karusa now, Princess," came the answer. "Go, and see, and then return to the Gerudo. They are in danger."

Zelda did not understand, but she did not ask. She had seen enough. Bringing the Sword to her chest, she prayed that she would soon wake.

* * *

Naboris was crouched once more, this time by the side of her city. Following the Ritual, Riju had been quickly inducted as pilot, and with a childlike eagerness, she had led the Divine Beast towards the south face of the city. Even sitting, Naboris towered over Gerudo Town, casting a long shadow across the walls.

The return of their Divine Beast was not the only gift Link and Zelda had for the Gerudo, however. Link had been thinking of ways to bolster the Champions - to unite them, as was so desperately needed. Matching scarves would not be enough. They needed to feel as though they were part of something elite, something with greater cause, and he remembered then his powers - or more accurately, the previous Champions' powers.

"Before we go, Lady Riju," he had said, catching the Gerudo Chief at the entrance of Vah Naboris. He cupped his hands to his chest. "This belonged to Lady Urbosa. Naboris' new pilot should have it."

Focusing, feeling a hollowness metered out from within, Link _pulled_ the power forward, until it was collected in a luminescent ball between his hands.

With shaking fingers, Riju reached forward, the light of the power dancing in her almond eyes. "This was Lady Urbosa's?" she echoed.

"It was her _fury_ ," Zelda said, her brows slightly furrowed. "A mage's mark. A click of her fingers and the storm was hers."

"And now it's yours," Link told the still gawping Chief. "A powerful gift of unity between Hyrule and Gerudo."

With a small bow, and the approval of Buliara, Riju pressed the shimmering light into her chest. Her eyes went white as she startled backwards, her breath hitching. Buliara moved to catch her, steadying hands at her shoulders. But Riju quickly recovered, and when it was done, she raised her hand and snapped her fingers. She squealed with delight as a barrage of static filled the chamber, crackling the air. Naboris warbled in response. Was it approval, or disapproval? Link could no longer hear the Beast's voice.

"Now, you may dream about _being_ Naboris, but that's normal," Zelda explained once they had disembarked. "The Sheikah Technology and the induction process creates a link between you."

Riju passed a lingering look up along Naboris' long spine, towards her impassive face. She was rubbing her hands together, as she had been since she'd received the power. "And what of Naboris' abilities?" she asked. "I've been subject to her electrical pulses before, but what about-"

"Those pulses could be useful, by the way," Link interjected. He had returned to Rhoamet's side, and was checking his segmented limbs for dust and sand. "They power her inner workings. I bet we could reroute it, somehow. To power pumps, or some kind of motor..."

Zelda agreed, her eyes lighting up at the prospect. "Electrical power, yes, that would be brilliant!"

The Chief's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps. But I have two dozen Zora at my doorstep. What do I do if they breach the Geldarm? I need Naboris to protect us!"

"And she will!" Zelda assured her. "The Zora will never dare approach the city with her here. But you can't actually _use_ her-"

Riju was adamant, her decision already made. "I have no choice. Believe me, please."

Link and Zelda stared incredulously at the Chief - at the _child_ before them - who was openly suggesting wielding her Divine Beast as an instrument of war. Behind Riju, Buliara approached with their sand seals. When she saw their downcast faces, she frowned, understanding immediately.

"Riju, if you attack them with Naboris, they will retaliate. With _their_ Beast," Link said sternly. "You cannot do this."

"And Sidon is working to bring them back under his control – to call them home," Zelda reminded her.

The little Chief looked to her bodyguard for backup, but Buliara gave her nothing more than an authoritative scowl.

"Of course," she conceded, her anxious hands dropping to her sides, though the commitment was feeble. "But by the Goddesses, waste no time in finding that Gerudo."

* * *

The openness of the desert brought a welcome peace. There was nothing between them but the searing air, the roll and yaw of the dunes, and the sand seals they had been gifted to help pull their supplies. Rhoamet marched behind them, both a protector and a pet.

Mercifully, the sands towards Karusa were wide and flat, and their hike was easy. By day they walked, talking little to conserve their strength, and by evenfall, they spoke and sang, told jokes and counted stars. Zelda read from her father's journal, recounting for Link the stories of his reign; the failed endeavour to open the Knight Academy to races beyond the Hylians, the overthrowing of a tyrannical Goron boss, the crisis of succession in Zora's Domain, the rise of magic in Gerudo Desert, among other things.

"Is there anything of my father in there?" Link had asked, and to both their dismay, they found nothing. Zelda herself could not even remember the man Link's father was - not even a name. Another memory lost to time.

And by night, they slept in each other's arms, fending off the chill of the desert, building a sanctuary between them that the rest of Hyrule could not reach. Link sought her lips in the dark, and Zelda relished in the comfort and simplicity of it, his mouth marking a slow journey down her neck. It stirred a new warmth within her, just like that night in the study, and she allowed herself to chase it - hands roaming over and under fabric, searching. Exploring. Learning.

And that boldness of the first night returned, inhibitions gone, her senses filled with nothing but the gallery of stars above and the electric, ecstatic pulse that coursed through her. But when they came close - Link's hand between her thighs and his murmur in her ear, _do you want to_ \- she said no. Not here. Not as vulnerable as they were. Not while she still shook with fear at the task ahead of them. Link did not pout, or complain, achingly at ease as he whispered, _Just being here with you is more than enough._

The next day the flat cliffs of Karusa finally rounded over the horizon. Zelda was flicking through the compendium in the Sheikah Slate, trying to remember if it was Warm Safflina or Cold Safflina that grew in the desert when Link suddenly placed a warning hand on her shoulder.

"Do you hear that?"

His body was tense, eyes closed as he concentrated. Around the toe of her boots, Zelda sensed the sand begin to shift.

It was quiet at first, the rumbling. Like blood through veins; soft, constant. It grew, creeping underfoot at the edge of her conscience. _Something's coming_. Soon more sand began to shudder, and then there was no denying it. _Something's coming!_ And the rushing grew louder, and stronger, and the ground shook, the sand bursting forth until like a flood as the sound of it washed over them and Link shouted,

" _Molduga!"_

They sprinted for their sand seals, grabbing their packs and leaping onto their surfing shields to flee. Rhoamet followed as fast as he could, but quickly lost pace as behind them, great boughs of sand from the Molduga beginning to erupt forth in pursuit. Zelda gave her tether a hard whip and winced at the sting against her fingers, fighting to keep her balance, while Link rounded to the right and sailed back towards Rhoamet.

"He can't keep up!" he cried. "And he's the heaviest thing here. We need to get him somewhere safe!"

Passing a fearful glance over her shoulder, Zelda spied the moving mound where the sand contorted - where the Molduga was closing. Rhoamet's five spindly legs flailed near helplessly as the sand fell away beneath him, his clawed feet not designed to traverse the unsteady ground at such speed.

The sand crested, and then dipped, and they raced down along a sloping valley.

"Over there! Up ahead!" Link was shouting, and Zelda saw a pair of low, rocky mesas at the base of the valley. They were small enough to climb but big enough to be a refuge, each sprouting a handful of arcing desert palms.

"Can you hold him off?" Zelda called to Link, sputtering against the sand that flew into her mouth. It was blinding, battering her eyes, her skin. Link however, seemed in his element. He was winding and weaving, whipping at his sand seal's tether, trying to create enough movement to draw the Molduga away from Rhoamet.

He held out a hand. "The Slate!" he said, cutting left behind Rhoamet.

As quick as she could, Zelda unlatched the Sheikah Slate, and lobbed it towards him, nearly losing her footing as she shifted her weight. Link banked towards her, catching it effortlessly with one hand.

"What are you going to do?" Zelda shouted.

Without answering, Link worked the Slate as they continued to race towards the twin mesas, and between his palms came forth a luminescent bomb, its light essence trailing behind in long lines. "Head to the Mesa!" he said. "I want to try something!"

Doubling down on her tether, Zelda called for the Guardian to follow while Link pulled back. The shallow in the ground that marked the Molduga's presence was gaining again. In a swift motion, Link threw the bomb onto the sand, circling around where it had landed, and not a moment later the Molduga changed course.

"Rhoamet!" Link shouted. "On my signal!"

The Molduga exploded from the sand, launching itself high into the air. Zelda caught the shadow as it careened overhead, wobbling again as the slope flattened. She watched with open mouth when Link thrust the Slate forward, and the Molduga _froze._

"Now!" Link roared. Mechanical, methodical and skidding as he halted in the sand, Rhoamet turned his round head back around and arced himself up towards the Molduga that was still mid-air. After a moment to aim, he fired; once, twice, three times, three beams of energy directly into the suspended creature. The Stasis on the Molduga broke, and it soared out of view, crashing down back into the sand at such a distance that Zelda could not even see it.

At last, they reconvened at the base of the mesas; Rhoamet had climbed them despite there no longer being any danger. Zelda leapt from her shield, and raced into Link's arms, laughing and cheering.

"That was amazing," she said. "You two make quite the team!"

"Thank you," Link grinned proudly, giving her an exultant kiss before climbing the mesa to Rhoamet's side. "I'm just glad he's safe."

Once they had recovered, they began to re-orient themselves; but the task did not take long. Their flight down the slope had led towards the cliffs at the edge of Gerudo. And less than half a mile beyond, splitting the wall of the bluffs like a blemish was a long, was a thin valley, the walls pressed in close, adorned with red flags. It was as it had appeared in the vision, bleak and uninviting, a crevice in the known world.

Link announced their arrival: "Karusa."

* * *

With wary steps and vigilant eyes, the trio of the wild - Link, Zelda, and their Guardian - made their way into what turned out to be an empty valley.

Despite what they presumed, Cinelgen had not come to Karusa. Not a single soul had in months. All they found were the dead, and the unseeing frog statues that were the valleys only residents now.

The further they pressed, the more corpses they met - most were completely rotted, their flesh shrivelled and desiccated, splitting to expose bone bleached white by the sun. But their clothes and their weapons identified them clearly enough. The red and black of the fabric had faded into pastels, and some of the weapons had begun to rust.

"Yiga, all of them." Link frowned, kneeling before one of the carcasses. He wrapped a hand around its wrist, peeling back the fabric and exposing a small, barely visible red tattoo. "They've been dead for months."

 _A massacre,_ Zelda realised. She had begun to shake, taking in the grim scene in stunned silence.

"Cinelgen did this," Zelda said. The woman's words returned like thunder; _the Gerudo are in danger_. "The vision… the vision was real."

As if in a trance, beset by a premonition of looming tragedy, Zelda began to ran back towards the valley's entrance. Link was calling after her, but she didn't slow.

"I will explain as we travel," she shouted over her shoulder. "We need to reach Riju!"

* * *

 _Just like old times_.

Their camp was built before even fall. They collected driftwood that washed up on the shore, leaving it to dry on the sand, harvesting bracken from the banks, and soon the fire was crackling in the twilight, Hyrule Bass browning above the flames.

The lake stretched out around them, vast as a sea against their little camp, and the Bridge of Hylia loomed overhead.

Lake Hylia was where Cinelgen had led them, determined to lay low and keep out of sight. They purchased horses, built tents. In the quiet, they lived. The Gerudo's constitution was changed entirely, his fervour tempered by the warm weather, any hint of vengeance gone. Inglis was hesitant to say he had simply _given up_. Cinelgen had always seemed to be working on something, but now he passed his time idly. Perhaps, having tasted both victory and failure, he was at peace.

They sat together by their campfire as night descended over the lake, each picking at morsels of roasted fish. At the shore, Milagre was washing her hair in the lake. Inglis peered through the smoke of the fire, gaze passing between Milagre in her water-soaked clothes and the cliffs above. Between bites, Cinelgen was musing over the omens of an early spring, his painted Duplex bow in his other hand, nails tracing the chips and marks it had collected over the years.

As he listened, he spotted a figure on an outcrop beyond the camp, and his heart almost stopped; there she was. A single searing eye, white-gold hair pulled into a rough braid.

One by one her followers appeared on the outcrop, and together they descended into the camp. It was not long before Cinelgen noticed, raising his eyes from the fire to meet them.

"Ah, Aurelia," he crooned, his arms thrown wide. "You found us!"

The scowl on Aurelia's face told Inglis that she was not here to rejoin their band.

"Why are you still here, Inglis?" she said coolly, ignoring the Gerudo's welcome.

"You know, Aurelia," Cinelgen went on, standing from the fire. "I didn't see you the day of the battle. You hadn't fled had you?"

"I had," she said matter-of-factly.

"But not to Karusa?" Cinelgen asked. "That is what we'd expect."

"And what I expected of you." Aurelia surveyed the camp with a discerning eye, counting their meagre number and provisions. "Even with nothing left they still follow you. Kings could not hope for greater loyalty."

Cinelgen revelled at the compliment. "I saved them, simple as that."

"Is that what they believe?" Aurelia implored. She looked to Inglis, whatever hint of friendship they shared now gone. "Is that why, Inglis? After all you did, you went running back to his side?" Inglis was ready to argue until he heard the hurt in her voice. Milagre had appeared at his side, still wet from the water. She was seething, Aurelia's presence an affront.

"Get out of here, Aury," she hissed. "Take your people and go."

"My people?" Aurelia cried. "They're _your_ people too, Mila. But you're too obsessed with power to remember." She gestured to the Gerudo. "Cinelgen murdered our people. He murdered my _sister_!"

Milagre was unaffected by the accusations. "Cassiah died on the road," she said authoritatively. "Two weeks before the attack on Karusa."

"A false report. Her tussle with Link did not kill her. She returned that night, I saw her as you marched us out of the valley!" Aurelia's voice wavered, the weight of her grief breaking her at last. "Peppered with arrows. Butchered, hunted like some helpless deer!" She beseeched the others of the camp. "Have you forgotten!? Cinelgen murdered dozens of our people. Or did you stay out of fear, like I did for too long? You needn't fear this man any longer. He has no army, no Castle, and no allies."

One by one, the bandits began to grumble and murmur. One crossed over to join Aurelia, and then another, and another. Inglis recognised them as Yiga, born to Karusa. They un-threaded their scarves and let them fall to the sand.

Cinelgen merely smiled. "Let them go," he said to those who remained. "I will not fight any longer."

"Don't mock them," Aurelia spat. She reached for the dagger at her belt. "I know you. I know what you would do. And I owe that Champion a debt - I will repay him by ridding the world of you."

"And what I would do?" Cinelgen crooned, amused by Aurelia's rage.

"You already massacred my people. What is another village to you? Another race? I watched as you wreaked havoc and I did nothing. No more."

Cinelgen sighed. "If that is what you think of me, then that is what you will get."

He reached for his bow, loading an arrow in an instant and firing it towards Aurelia. She dodged, lightning fast, the arrow just grazing her neck, and the camp erupted into chaos. Through the shouting and the brawl, Cinelgen raced for his horse, Milagre in tow. They mounted, kicking up sand as they fled along the beach.

"He's leaving, let's go!" some of his followers called, mounting their own horses.

Inglis found his own horse tethered by his lean-to and watched as Cinelgen's followers retreated, with Aurelia's giving chase.

He had a choice, he realised. The first choice he had been given in months, maybe years. To let them flee, to mount his horse and ride as far as he could away from Faron and from Cinna; or to chase the Yiga - and to chase his friend.

Inglis deliberated no longer. He made his decision and mounted his horse.

* * *

The scene that met Link and Zelda at the Geldarm Bridge was one of inaction – thought it was tense, measured, ready to break at any moment. Zelda hoped in vain that the woman had been wrong. _The Gerudo are in danger_ , she had said. That much was true. The Zora number seemed to have swelled in size, and even now Zelda spied more arriving from the north. They were fortifying. Preparing.

The only activity at the Gerudo camp however, was a caravan of wagons approaching the bridge, carrying large crates and barrels. Provisions, Zelda presumed. Riju had returned to her post at the southern edge of the bridge. She was watching the Zora as she had been the first time Zelda had met her here; with stony eyes, and heavy features. She was watching a Rito was depart from the Zora camp, with a large satchel strapped over his shoulder.

"No word from Sidon. And more of Muzu's Zora arriving by the day," Riju sighed as they approached, appraising them with polite, if somewhat forced smile. "We heard that Karusa was abandoned. Cinelgen escaped us again."

"We have to keep faith, in Sidon at least," Zelda assured her, and Riju hummed, her eyes returning to the Zora camp. Once, Zelda would have buried the anxious thoughts that came then, but now she let them have their time; _you equipped Riju with her Divine Beast_ , the voices of her conscience whispered, _you provoked the Zora into bolstering their forces._

"Where will you go now?" Riju asked, a strange finality to her voice. "Where do you think Cinelgen could be?"

"Necluda," Link answered. "We need to go where travellers go. If he has been seen, we will find out."

The Chief nodded wordlessly. She signalled for the guard, her movements laborious. Zelda was about to ask what was wrong when Riju began to speak again.

"I want to apologise. I was foolish to want to use Naboris for war," She spoke as if reading an epitaph. "I just hope you understand. My people live in fear. I would do whatever I could to protect them."

Behind them, a Gerudo guardswoman was approaching, a small package in hand.

"We understand," Zelda said.

"It's a hard time for everyone," Link added. Zelda fought the urge to smile.

The guardswoman stopped to bow before them, and placed the package into Zelda's hands. It was a small tin, painted in black and gold brocade.

"A small gift of thanks, seeing as you could not stay," Riju said, turning, at last, to give them an apologetic smile. "I have negotiated with the Zora that you shall have passage. Despite everything, they remember your names."

After exchanging their final goodbyes, Link and Zelda became the first to cross the Geldarm bridge in months. Soon the desert heat began to recede, giving way to budding grasses and the colour of spring.

Walking alongside her horse, Zelda popped open the tin and took in the sweet smell of the lacquered treats. Tucked among the folds of paper, she noticed a small slip of parchment, rolled into a scroll. Gently, she tugged it free and found a neat, cursive writing on the paper.

 _I'm sorry_.

She froze mid step, spinning back towards the Bridge and without a word, she mounted her horse, kicking it hard down the path.

"Hey! _Zelda!"_ Link shouted, tearing after her on his own horse.

She didn't know what she would do when she returned. She didn't know what she could do. Maybe if she were there, whatever Riju had planned would not happen.

She reached the Zora camp and leapt to the ground, pushing through the soldiers.

And there the little Chief was, alone, her right hand raised and fingers drawn together. Two rows of the crates Zelda had seen had been rolled out onto the bridge, marked in paint with black xs. Riju startled when she saw Zelda but did not let her hand fall. _I'm sorry_. Zelda could not imagine the little Chief writing those words. It was the universe itself apologising to her then.

"Get back! Get back!" Zelda screamed, clawing at the Zora around her, trying in vain to pull them backwards, and behind her Link finally broke through the crowd.

They exchanged a fearful look and sprinted out to the edge of the bridge. But neither was fast enough. Riju clicked her fingers, and the whole valley shook.

First from the lightning that struck the bridge.

Then from the explosive barrels that burst forth a shockwave of flame and debris.

And lastly from the sandstone that shattered beneath their feet as the Geldarm Bridge began to crumble.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys! I see all your reviews - apologies I don't always reply. Thankyou as always for your support! I've had one or two asking me some story/personal questions. I'm not a fan of answering these in my author notes. If you want to contact me, my tumblr (listed in my bio) is the best place!**


	20. Home

The Bridge! Get Off!  
Come here, where it's safe.  
Everyone survived,  
At least, I hope  
What a fucking mess,  
She nearly killed them all!  
She is only a child,  
Under the weight of that throne.

Oh Hylia help us,  
Look what have you done.  
I had no other choice!  
Is that what you think?  
Have I taught you nothing?  
Patience, Riju, patience!  
We would have died by their hands!  
And now we'll die alone.

Send a letter to Muzu,  
The Regent must know.  
By the Goddess, can you believe it?  
The whole thing is down!  
Sidon would have stopped this.  
Give me a report. Is anyone hurt?  
We sent word with a Rito,  
I think it's time we went home.

* * *

The aftershocks lingered for days. Thwarting tongues. Scattering soldiers. The Zora shrugged through their shock, asking each other that inescapable question. Why stay?

No one had been killed by the destruction of the Geldarm Bridge, but those closest to it nursed lacerations and cuts that formed a crosshatch, Link and Zelda included. Her partner did what he could; healed those who wanted to be healed, muttering platitudes and soothing words.

"You'll go home soon," Link told a Zora warrior he was attending to, and Zelda hoped that his words would come true. Somewhere, in the glistening interweave of Zora's Domain, she hoped that Prince Sidon would soon find his crown, and call an end to this rabid conflict. He has Larella with him, she reminded herself, hoping the notion would calm her. No such luck. So why has he taken so long? She drummed her fingers on her thigh, impatience fervent within her.

"Home..." ruminated the Zora warrior, flexing his arm now that it was healed. "What I wouldn't give to see the Domain! I should be thanking that crazy little Chief." Laughter rounded the small group of injured Zora waiting for Link's attention. Praise little Riju, they snickered. We can finally leave this stupid valley.

And so it seemed that the Zora sent to siege Gerudo Desert garnered no hate for their opponents. They, like everyone in their flotsam of a kingdom, just wanted a recess from it all. All this conflict, all this chaos; all it needed to be ended was for everyone to agree that it was pointless. But how could one argue that something was nothing and that nothing meant something?

Her father's journal gave the order on what to do; the situation has become too complex, he had written of the Goron Civil Crisis in the years before she was born, my presence will not untie this particular knot.

The Goron Crisis was a long story, but the lesson was clear; retreat is not failure. With this in mind, Zelda set herself three tasks while Link continued his healing.

First, she sought out the commanding officer of the Zora, a wide-stanced and ageing man who looked affronted that the siege dare be over. She found him barking orders at no one in particular, grasping steadfast onto the last of his command. With a polite bow and a firm voice, she told him that the best course of action was to ferry his injured home and leave the Gerudo to their own struggles.

"Chief Riju only wanted that you leave; I do not believe she wished to harm you," Zelda advised.

The officer huffed but agreed to consider her suggestion only because he recognised her as the Hylian Princess, and recalled how she healed Divine Beast Vah Ruta. Royalty always gets what they want, he had muttered under his breath. But he did as she advised, and once he raised the prospect of returning home, his warriors were so amiable to the idea that the camp had begun to pack up within an hour.

Next on her list of tasks was to find a Rito courier, and send an urgent letter to Larella, and another to Hyrule Castle. She found one lingering at the camp's edge, his pack already full with messages bound for the Domain, each warrior sending his kin the same news; I'm alive.

Zelda's letter was not entirely different;

The Geldarm is down. Destroyed by Chief Riju. The Zora are retreating. Cinelgen still missing. Link and myself unharmed. Be vigilant.

Link offered to translate it into Shiekah Code for security, until Zelda pointedly reminded him that he was one of only four people living who could easily read it (their aging Shiekah allies being the other three). He took that in his stride, stopping his healing to pull out his notebook and complete the task regardless.

"Did you plan for an attack on the bridge in that red book of yours?" Zelda teased, but Link did not recognise the jape.

"I had, actually," he frowned, flipping determinedly through the pages. "But I thought it would be instigated by the Zora."

And thirdly, she wrote one more letter, to be delivered by any traveller that they could find at the Outskirt Stables willing to cross through the Highlands and enter Gerudo. An unlikely prospect, but one she could improve by promising a handsome reward. One hundred rupees? Maybe three hundred? Whatever the price, she needed Riju to read the words;

Should you need assistance rebuilding, we can offer aid. But I cannot condone what you have done. Lady Urbosa once gave me some advice that I would like to pass on. Fury is like fire, Chief Riju. A tool, a weapon, a defence; but fury, like fire, consumes.

When she was done, Zelda saw that the line of Zora wanting to heal had grown short, and soon after non-existent. Their camp was almost entirely consolidated, folded neatly into packs and wagons, the ground where they had been undisturbed - as though they had never come. It was strangely uneventful, almost disappointing. An arduous siege that was the culmination of months of civil unrest, ending suddenly like shutting a book.

Zelda found Link already having packed up their things once more, as eager to leave as she was. With a curt farewell to the Zora commanding officer, they departed ahead of the Zora, leaving the carnivorous Gerudo Desert - the place that consumed plans and intentions like dogs to a rabbit - behind once more.

* * *

The heat followed from the valley; Spring had come to Hyrule in the form of sun-filled days, swarms of flowers, and the almost petulant, persistent hum of dusk bugs and the hawking wildlife, calling forth the change of season.

The humidity made Zelda a little dizzy. Not hot enough to induce abandon. Not cold enough to harden her skin into a shield. And the rain. The rain. Pressing down against the earth, infiltrating through woollen sleeves, single droplets caressing her neck, flattening golden hair made muddy-blonde against her scalp. This was the Hyrule that greeted them as they rode once again along the cliffs of the Great Plateau.

In the interim between the desert and Necluda, they made camp at the Outpost Ruins. Dusk found Zelda huddled under a ruined shack, her father's journal clutched against her chest, while Link practised his swordplay in the rain. A familiar scenario, she realised, but a happy one now. She had urged him to stop - to rest, lest he catches a cold, to come sit by her side - but he explained just how long he'd had spent so much time cooped up in narrow cells and dark arenas. He wanted to move, wanted to stretch his soul, hear the song, and so she sang while he danced, her father's journal traded for her golden harp, and they made music between themselves under the rising moonlight.

Rhoamet too began to dance, pacing through the rain. Chasing butterflies or patrolling, it was hard to tell. Link had performed another diagnostic on him with the Sheikah Slate and found strangely little. Rhoamet was uncorrupted, but all other readings were scrambled. What information the Slate gave them was useless. Serial numbers. Unreadable code. And a single repeated and recapitulated phrase.

No. Infantry: Zero

Only now it had punctuation; now it made sense.

"Number of infantry, zero," Link read aloud. "A count of soldiers?"

Rhoamet sat dutifully before them. He began to blink, repeating the phrase on the screen.

Link did a quick scan of the ruins around them. They were empty of infantry, that was certain. "Why would he be keeping track of that?"

"And why report it to Vah Naboris?" Zelda added.

More scribbling. Link reached the last page of his journal, and so seconded her Sheikah Slate to make more. He'd been taking photos too, documenting; Rhoamet's segmented legs, his ceramic looking body, the pattern of his swirls and markings. A habit carried over from when he'd started using the Hyrule Compendium to catalogue the beasts and bits of nature that he came across.

The Slate was still at his belt now. Zelda had forgotten to ask for it back. It suits him, she mused. The blue matches his eyes. It bobbed and bounced against his hip as he moved, hooked neatly by the clasps fastened to his side.

As she watched, Zelda thought on the words of the Deku Tree. They boomed in her head, as though he were not fifty yards behind her. Have you considered, Princess, he had asked her, what it means to hold all three? The three triangles; the Royal Crest. She had thought the riddle to be referring to her power. He had told her that generally, it would split, and seek out those who embodied those virtues of wisdom, courage and power. But it hadn't in her. She would have thought herself to be wisdom if any of the virtues. And surely Link most embodied courage? Is that not what he was, in mind and soul; courage's own manifestation? But the Slate at his hip told a different story; something far less reductive. Something that would normally be lost to legend; hazed in the passing of time.

Soon he rejoined her at the fire, unbuckling his sword and belt, lifting his tunic over his head to wring it dry over the fire, his undershirt still soaked through and clinging to his chest. Zelda smiled without thinking, two words wafting into her conscience like beacons from a watchtower - constant, inherent. He's mine.

"Feel better?" she asked. Link nodded, chest heaving. Behind him, Rhoamet was still waltzing to his own tune.

"What about you?" he asked, re-shirting and sitting down at her side. "That business in the desert-"

"Would have broken us both, three months ago," Zelda interjected. "But here we are. Pressing on as we always do."

She was about to reach for him; to pull him in close so she could feel his warmth and take in the smell of rain on his skin when in the distance, she caught sight of a figure veiled by the downpour. A Hylian, atop a weary horse, trudging along the path from the south. They were on their feet in a second; Link with his sword drawn, and Zelda with her Sparrow bow. They stood side by side, ready to meet the newcomer.

But out from the rain, the only person that emerged was Inglis.

Soaked and grumpy, he stared down at them for a long moment before bursting into laughter. Zelda could only watch as Link joined in, sheathing his sword and meeting Inglis beside the horse to give him a strong-armed hug. Though it was hard to tell in the rain, Zelda thought for a moment that Inglis was weeping with joy.

"What are you doing here?" he cried. "Don't you have a Castle to run?"

"We were looking for you," Link shot back.

"Surely not," Inglis smiled. "I'm not Gerudo."

He turned to Zelda, bowed low, and offering to take her hand in his, he said. "A pleasure to finally meet you, Princess."

He and Link are of a kind, she thought, taking his hand and curtseying in return, sensing the gentleness to Inglis that she had long known in Link. Yet, he had still been Cinna's confidant, she reminded herself. Father would call me a fool for trusting him.

Inglis recounted his journey as they settled in for the night; Cinelgen had fled to Faron against everyone's expectations, but Aurelia had found them, and in the chaos, Inglis had escaped.

Link's ears had pricked at the melodic name. "Aurelia is alive?"

"With a vengeance," Inglis grinned. "She took the rest of her Yiga from him."

That name again; Aurelia the Yiga woman. Link had not spoken of her; indeed this was only the second time Zelda had heard the name. Who are you, she wondered of the faceless woman.

They sat around the fire, passing between them the bag of wildberries that Link had picked on his way out of Gerudo. Inglis spoke with heavy features, and the thick, unmistakable accent of an Akkalan, his voice strangely lumbered for someone apparently set free, "I don't know where Cinna is now, and he could have gone in any direction."

"Lurelin Village is the nearest settlement in Faron, but Hateno is the closest town," Link pondered, the dim light from the Sheikah Slate reflecting in his eyes as he examined its map. He looked up at their new companion. "But you know Cinna, would he really make for the nearest town?"

Inglis bowed his head between his knees. "Cinna's harder to read than ever. He has something planned - he's biding his time, but for what, I don't know." He sniffled, wiping his nose on his sleeve and lifting his head to gaze into the flames.

Link passed Zelda the bag of wildberries, and returned to scanning the map in the Slate. Zelda saw the difference then, that which divided the boys before her. Link's eyes shimmered with purpose, something having been unhindered within him in the months that they were apart; Inglis' were lost, drooped from fatigue. When he blinked, he flinched.

"Then we have time, too." Zelda concluded, passing him the wildberries. "Hateno is a traveller's hub. If he has been seen, we will find out."

* * *

The arch of the Duelling Peaks pressed in close overhead as they lead their horses towards the swamp that preceded Fort Hateno, and soon the ephemeral stream that they walked along widened into a river that followed the bordering hills, leading eastwards into Hateno.

The hooded travellers at the Duelling Peaks Stables would otherwise have paid them no mind - happy to hide out of the rain and wait for night to fall by their fires and within the thatched walls. But wide eyes reflecting humming cerulean lights greeted them instead, as did the open mouthed gasps and muffled shouts. Guardian! Guardian! They cried, and they scrambled and made such as fuss that even Rhoamet seemed to sense their hostility.

It wasn't until Link managed to get ahold of the Stablekeep and explain who the party were and what Rhoamet was that the commotion finally began to die down.

"You'll get this everywhere you take him," Inglis commented as he rubbed down his horse, and unstrapped his saddle bag. "No matter how many times you explain."

Link was unphased, focusing his attention on soothing his unsettled Guardian by running a steady hand along his ceramics. "Then I will explain, as many times as it takes. He's an important part of our history."

"Perhaps there are others," Zelda mused as she worked her own horse, adding, "That survived, I mean. Robbie said the rest were dead."

"Robbie," Link repeated, happening upon a forgotten thought. He nodded, feeling the idea catch. "Robbie might know."

They had settled their horses in the barns behind the stables tent, and just beyond the line of trees that gathered around the boundary was that final swamp - a haunted place, Link knew. Rhoamet had turned to survey, and Rhoamet had seen, marching off towards the piles of now long-deceased Guardians.

"Hey, hey, no," Link muttered, following his Guardian, but Rhoamet did not hear. Soldier like, he made his way into the swamp, his Hylian companions following on foot.

In their journeys so far, they had yet to come across many deactivated Guardians; the only ones Link could remember where the small handful they had encountered in Hyrule Field. But there were more here. Many, many more. And they weren't just deactivated, as many had been at Ganon's vanquishing. These were the Guardians that Link had killed.

Rhoamet carefully approached the slumped body of one of his old comrades, staring silently. His head whirred to examine the Guardian next to it, and then again to the pile resting against a partially collapsed wall. When Link, Zelda and Inglis finally managed to reach him, he was padding circles on the grass, taking in each of the many dead that surrounded them. And when he finally turned to Link, he repeated that same phrase.

No. infantry: zero.

"I know, buddy," Link whispered. "They're all gone. I'm sorry."

Infantry down.

"I know. Ganon killed-"

Retreat.

Link started. "W-what?"

Regroup: HC.

"Link - what is he saying?" Zelda asked. He focused, trying to understand. Retreat. Regroup. New phrases.

"He's giving orders," Link realised. "These were his infantry."

"His...infantry…?" Inglis murmured, and Link nodded, stepping slowly towards his Guardian.

"He's not a soldier. He's not even a Knight," he concluded, watching as Rhoamet continued meandering through the swamp, blinking furiously down at the decaying old foot soldiers beneath him. "He's a commander."

Like I was, Link thought as he reached Rhoamet, and climbed quickly onto his shell. Perhaps the Gods brought us together then.

There was nothing more they could do for the Guardian. Link led him away from the swamp - back to the safety and oblivion of the Stables - and as they walked, he wondered if it was cruel somehow that Rhoamet had survived where the rest of his kin had fallen.

* * *

Three golden arrows made quick work of the marauding Moblins as though they were no greater threat than Chu Chus. Zelda shot one through the eye, and the other twice through the heart, giggling proudly to herself when they fell.

It was the most exciting thing that had happened in their entire journey into Hateno, and Link was finding it difficult to remain awake in his saddle. He tried to focus on the chatter between Zelda and Inglis - they were discussing the operation of the Sheikah Slate - but his eyelids were like lead, his muscles water and his fingers numb from the icy cold of the morning. The Necludan valleys brought turbulent winds that staved off the onset of summer, just when Link was beginning to think that winter might finally be over.

It well past noon when they finally made their way into Hateno, taking a southern path to avoid the main town. Too many people there - as adamant that Link was that he could soothe the people on Rhoamet's presence, he had no wish to quell an entire town. And he had not slept the night before, his mind filled with the realisation about his Guardian, hence his drowsiness even with the afternoon sun high and hot overhead.

As always, Rhoamet followed silently by the side of Link's horse, though the party had needed to stop more than once due to the Guardian becoming stuck between the tightly grouped hillside trees.

"He's caught in the trees again!" Inglis would call, shaking Link from his stupor. Once, in the haze of his own sleepiness, he had replied,

"He's not caught, Inglis. The trees are in the way."

If Link was half-asleep before, Inglis and Zelda's laughter had awoken him then. He grumbled, disliking feeling so sluggish. Zelda had not slept either, yet she was sprightly, almost antsy, and then he remembered; she hasn't been to Hateno in a hundred years.

She had sat at the foot of his bed, conversing with him almost the entire night as they un-threaded what they had learned about Rhoamet. It is hard to theorise with what little information they had, but this is what they had decided; Rhoamet looked like a regular Guardian Stalker, if a little smaller, but he was something like a…

"Nodal activator," Zelda had said. "Or something like that."

"Excuse me?" Link blinked, feeling as though she had spoken a foreign tongue.

"We know from tapestries and limited research that the Guardians used swarm tactics, you saw it for yourself during the Calamity," she explained. "One can imagine each Guardian as a node in a network, but perhaps occasionally there would be an activator, to detect and evaluate new threats, and to coordinate with the Beasts, or maybe even us."

"A commander," Link offered, thinking of the soldiers he had led at Fort Hateno. Or the nodes, as Zelda would call them.

"Exactly."

If he admitted it to himself, Link felt a little chuffed. His Guardian was smarter than the others. His Guardian was a leader. But still, Link was troubled, unable to shake the notion that Rhoamet no longer had a purpose. That he should have been long dead if the Goddess was kind.

They rejoined the main path and led Rhoamet up along the steep hill towards Link's house. Inglis had already parted to head into town, and inquire at the inn for any word of a fiery-haired Gerudo man and a bed for the night. When he'd asked if Link and Zelda needed rooms, Link had cheerfully informed him that the answer was no.

"I have a house here; we'll sleep there." He'd cast an askance glance at the woman riding along the path at his side, and wondered with another flutter of glee if he would sleep alone.

The trio would regroup in the morning; Link and Zelda would pay a call to Purah at the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab, and with the information that Inglis had found in the town, they would make their next decision on how to act. For now, Link could think of nothing he wanted more than to rest - to have an evening off, at last, in his own home.

Zelda stowed their horses in the bays by the house, while Link explained to Rhoamet that he could tap on the window if he needed anything. "Just say my name, buddy, and I'll be there." Rhoamet gave an affirmative, Okay, Link, and tucked himself in under the tree by Link's house, his flickering lights fading as he entered what seemed like a low-power state.

"Does he sleep, truly?" Zelda asked, but Link could not answer with more than a shrug.

The inside of Link's Hateno house was endearingly unchanged, save a small amount of dust that had collected on the furnishings - and a new fireplace that was tucked into the far corner, an invoice folded up and left on the mantle. It, too, was gathering dust, and was now long overdue, Link saw. Bolson Construction Company read the fine lettering at the top of the parchment. He folded the paper quickly, ignoring the exorbitant price of the fireplace, and turned to see Zelda standing silently in the middle of the room, her hands tucked across her chest and her eyes wondrous, and wide.

"Do you like it?" Link ventured. "It's not much, I know."

"It's… strange," she said. Her eyes passed over the weapons mounted on the walls, over the neat kitchen and half empty bookshelves; she climbed the stairs and laughed at the framed pictures sitting on Link's dresser, chiding, "You'll need to find something more interesting to frame," and then returned with a vase she had found by his bedside, containing a now long dead flower.

"Strange?" he asked her.

"How novel it feels to be here," she answered, plucking the flower from the vase, and emptying the water into the basin in the kitchen. "Not an inn, or a camp, or a castle. But a home."

"Perhaps we're not the settling types."

"Maybe we can be," Zelda went back out into the yard, setting about plucking a handful of wildflowers for the vase. "Just for one night."

Knights! He had to bite his lip to quell his gasp; it was his father's voice again. You know nothing about them. You will never be good enough to be one of them!

He stood in vexation, unable to think or move as the cruel words drifted through his mind. Why was there no face, no name, only a voice? Who had his father been?

Cold ceramic between his palms re-woke Link as Zelda handed him the vase - now full of yellow flowers - and returned inside. As he watched her go, Link decided that when he re-entered that house, he would not open it for a single thing. He would forget the war; he would forget Cinelgen, he would forget the voice. When the sun had set there would be nothing but blackness around them, and no Hyrule to speak of. He would find his rest - mind, body and soul - with her and no-one else.

Link stepped into his home and shut the door.

* * *

The eyes fell suspicious upon Inglis as he walked into Hateno's premier establishment, a modest but somewhat cramped public house tucked in behind the town's inn. It was mid-afternoon, hardly the time one seeks a drop of wildwine or Akkalan ale, but Link and Zelda had sent him into town to search for news. He figured drink made storytellers of even the most mousey travellers, and here was where the drinkers came. If he found nothing, at least he'd have an interesting tale to pass on to his Hylian companions.

With head bowed, he approached the mantle of the bar, sliding himself into one of the tall stools. It rocked under his weight, the legs poorly balanced, and for half a moment Inglis imagined himself careening over backwards like an idiot. Get yourself a drink, he told himself. Calm these nerves.

He ordered a mug of mulled wildwine and scanned the room. Half a dozen faces. The liver-spotted barkeep with a checkered apron spooning the aromatic wildwine into a mug; a pair of young men a few barstools over, both in travellers clothes, though the one facing him was wearing what seemed to be a soldier's tunic; an older couple, man and wife, sitting by one of the yellow-tinted windows, splitting flower seed pods with their teeth and chewing the seeds like a cow to cud; and a Rito the colour of wetted ground leaning by the door and sipping from a large flagon of what looked like cocoa milk, probably resting before a journey home. Where to start. How to ask. Yes, about 6ft high, maybe higher, and Gerudo, yes! I'm just wondering how far he got! When we parted ways, he said so little... Inglis shook the wayward words from his mind and accepted the mulled wine from the barkeep, tossing a handful of rupees onto the bar. He turned to the young men, who had been arguing in low tones ever since Inglis had walked in.

"I know you don't want to go to the Castle again, but don't you think that's the most likely place they'd be?" suggested the man in the soldier's tunic.

His travelling companion huffed, and Inglis recognised his accent then as that of a northerner. Of an Akkalan! "Nell, friend, I do, I really do," the northerner muttered. "But… but—hic—I just… surely you understand?"

Inglis took a sip of the wine, feeling the warmth of it trickle down his throat and flower in his stomach, and emboldened, he cleared his throat.

"Pardon, pardon me if I'm intruding, but are you two travellers?"

By the look on his face, the northerner recognised Inglis' accent in turn. But his glare was intense, a sudden fury fading into surprise. And before Inglis could speak, he realised he recognised more than the man's accent.

Granté of Akkala smiled wide, "Inglis! You're alive! And here, in Hateno! What are the odds?"

"Quite high, where else would he go now?" the soldier interjected. He looked to Inglis, nodding. "Apologies for my friend, we're travellers, alright. Name's Nell," he extended a hand for a firm handshake and gestured limply to the northerner. "This one's Granté, though I see you've met."

"We have," Inglis nodded. He met Granté's vivid eyes, quietly wishing now that he had never come to the bar at all. "You're looking well," he managed. "Better."

"Pah," Granté waved away the assessment. "Sheikah genes. We're a little stronger than your lot."

By now, the rest of the patrons in the pub had turned to watch the reunion. Inglis sought an excuse to leave, but all he could find to say was, "W-what are you doing this far south?"

The Sheikah leaned in close, and when he spoke Inglis could almost taste the alcohol on his breath. "Father received word at the lab that Zelda proclaimed herself Queen, so Nell and I volunteered to come south to seek her out," he explained, patting his chest where there was ostensibly a hidden pocket. "We've got proof and that. Only when we reached the Castle she wasn't there, so we went to Kakariko - and ah, it was nice to finally see my ancestral home!"

"Aye, likely because of that pretty girl you met," Nell teased. "What was her name? Some kind of fruit, I think."

"Now, listen," Granté whirled around to point the finger at his friend. "I said I'd write to her about my travels and nothing more." He spun back around, a little unsteady, and it was then that Inglis noticed the trio of empty glasses by the Sheikah's side. "Anyway, anyway," he slurred. "Then we came here, in case the Princess decided on a diplomatic mission or something."

Inglis wasn't sure if he should tell them the truth, and if he did, how much of it to tell. He decided against telling them anything; after all, Zelda likely wanted to keep a low profile.

"Well, I haven't seen her," he lied, hoping the pair hadn't seen the quiver of his lips.

Both Hylians sighed in unison. "She'll turn up," Granté conceded, his face crestfallen for less than a second before he grinned again, throwing his arms wide, "But you should come back with us - to Akkala!"

Inglis almost stumbled backwards then. What a prospect! "I can't… there isn't anything there anyway."

"That's where you're wrong!" Granté informed him. "Akkala Citadel welcomes you!"

"Akkala… Citadel?" Inglis repeated. "That ruin?"

The Sheikah boy looked as though he might have built it himself. "Aye. Some great magic a few months back cleared it of its corruption. Some folks from Tarrey Town were working on restorations all through the winter. Most of our population are refugees of the war, sadly, but they were glad to host them."

Inglis could hardly believe it. Some great magic; that sounded exactly like Link and Zelda's doing. They had restored Akkala Citadel! His father had told him stories of that place as a boy, of that legendary Castle, and the legend of the last stand of the Knights of Hyrule, but… but now it was more than a legend.

You cannot. You have a job to do. You must not stray.

Inglis took a long sip of his wildwine, and then another, willing the ferment to take control. "I'm sorry, friends, but I have to decline," he said, feeling a trickle run down his chin. "I have my own work here."

Granté and Nell watched in a confused silence as he bowed, placed the half empty mug back onto the bar, and sped from the pub.

* * *

They supped on soup and bread that Zelda had purchased at the Duelling Peaks Stables and sat with full stomachs by the warmth of the new fireplace. Zelda had discovered to some excitement that her powers could ignite wood, and soon the flames were roaring in the hearth. She was poring again over her Father's journal, reading on the failed expansion of the Hylian Academy. Voswann tells me change is inevitable, Rhoam had written. Why does the Goddess deem it be so difficult? While she read, Link rested his head in her lap, the flickering light of the fire dancing on his still features. His eyes lolled open periodically as he passed between asleep and awake, until at last he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up to gently stoke the fire.

"You've been a little quiet today," Zelda said. "Thoughtful, I mean."

For a moment Link pondered her words as if searching for a way to dismiss her. But finally, he said, "It's just...coming here, with you, has brought back a new feeling to this place. Well… not new." He sidled in next to her, leaning a head against her shoulder. "Old."

"Old?" She shut the journal, laying it down on the floor.

"As though this is the oldest place I know," Link answered.

"Perhaps you came here as a child."

It was the simplest explanation, really. Link agreed. "I must have. Or maybe… maybe I was born here," he gestured to the house around them. "Maybe this really was my home."

Zelda looked around the room once again; a humble enough home, too humble for the son of a Knight, surely. Link would have been raised in Castle Town, with the rest of the children whose families were in service to her father. "Are you sure nothing else brought this on?" she asked, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. He reached across to her thigh and pulled her legs onto across his lap, snuggling her in close.

"Link, talk to me," she urged and felt him sigh.

"I've been hearing my father's voice," he eventually admitted. "Ever since I arrived at the Castle. I've been hearing it again here, this evening at the house."

More memories; more ghosts. Even here, their entire world was a graveyard. "I wish I had known him. I might have been able to help you…"

Link wheezed a soft laugh. "I don't think you'd want to. His voice is… harsh. It keeps telling me I'm not enough."

"Not enough? What does that mean?"

"I don't know," Link half-growled, his frustration gnawing beneath. "All I can think is, what if my father was right? I thought, with Rhoamet, for a while, that maybe I could be more than what I was. I thought I helped him by freeing him-"

She ran a hand through his hair, and soothed, "You did."

Link shook his head, the fine strands of his hair weaving between her fingers. "All I've done is distress him. You saw his reaction to the field of dead Guardians,"

Zelda had, but what she remembered was the way Link had calmed Rhoamet with little more than a gentle hand and whispered words. "Do you want to talk about it?" she offered.

"No," He raised his eyes to meet hers, giving her a quick kiss along the line of her jaw before saying, "I don't want to talk about anything at all."

And so, turning to catch his lips with hers, Zelda ended the conversation. "Then let's not talk," she murmured in his ear, unravelling herself from him and standing with a hand outstretched. When he took it, she led him up the stairs to his loft - to his bed in the corner - though in truth they barely managed to make it, kisses fevered and hands straying.

"Let's not talk until morning," Link added, and after that, they said nothing but each other's names.

* * *

In the moonlight, they count their scars.

Three for the Princess; one, on her right shoulder. Another on her brow. A third on her leg, perhaps gained in Hebra, or Gerudo.

Countless for the Knight, on his back, on his arms, torso, legs, hands. Endless origins; endless causes.

They count scars and trade kisses, planting them where they both have been hurt. Soft lips to heal. Warm hands to soothe. Discovering parts of each other forgotten; uncovering stories in the jagged lines of once broken skin.

Beneath the blankets, alone in the world save each other, they let the scars be scars and nothing more. They feel for where it hurts, and where it doesn't. Where touch brings hollow pain and the fullness of pleasure, creating something hungrier; a demand, for each other, for everything. And it's better than it was in that study. It's better than anything ever has been. Sometimes they laugh when it's awkward, and sometimes they tremble when it's too much.

But together, when it is done, Princess and Knight know that if they gather more scars, they will not do so alone. They know, no matter how many scars they collect, they will re-meet here to count them again.

* * *

For such an extraordinary place, the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab was impressively unassuming. The only thing that marked it as anything but another one of the stately old homes of Hateno was the curious blue flame burning in the teardrop shaped furnace by the door. Zelda inspected it while Link tied up their horses, holding a hand to the fire.

"You can go in without me," he said, turning his attention now to Rhoamet, who had planted himself next to Zelda and was also examining the flame.

Zelda said nothing at first, instead chuckling nervously to herself. When Link placed a hand on her shoulder, she let out a long held breath and finally said, "Reunions! They never get any easier."

"Well, you know she isn't old old like Impa," Link said. "Though careful you don't laugh."

She drew her hand back from the flame, frowning haughtily. "I won't laugh. Purah's condition is a highly intriguing scientific phenomenon and more importantly a sensitive medical issue," she clicked her teeth. "Honestly, Link."

But when he pushed open the double doors and led her into the workshop, and when a bright little girl of six turned with an excited expression to greet them, Zelda practically squawked. Her squeal - part laughter, part shock and part childish delight - filled the research lab, and she turned so red from embarrassment that Link half thought she looked sunburnt.

"Well, there she finally is," tutted the Sheikah researcher. "One hundred years and four months late, but you are royalty after all," Purah leant forward, hands on hips and globular red eyes shining, speaking as though dispensing ancient wisdom. "The party starts when you say it starts."

* * *

The hint of sugar in his tea was a welcome, if small, pick-up. Link drank deep, finishing his first cup long before anyone else. Zelda offered Symin a sweet thank you as he refilled her cup, and then Link's, but Purah was not so impressed.

"Carefully," she scolded. "If you spill any and burn either of these children, I'll have you rewriting the ledger again!"

Fear flashed in behind Symin's round spectacles, and he gave a quick bow before scurrying away. Purah took a short sip of from her own tea and returned to her thoughtful pause for a long, silent moment. They sat around her workbench, drinking Hyrule Herb tea and munching on short cakes that Purah had apparently been saving. After a little while longer in thought, she eventually said,

"If this...Cinneygen had been here, we would have known. Even isolated as we are. After all this nonsense between the Zora and Gerudo, the Hylians are on alert for any who aren't them. Especially the kind that only shows up once every few generations."

"Gerudo males are that rare?" Link questioned. No wonder he thought himself a King.

"Oh, yes," Purah affirmed, stirring another sugar cube through her cup. "I've forgotten the exact number of years, a hundred or so? Perhaps two hundred? Though I would not be surprised if records of Gerudo males were suppressed. They still have a sore spot over that Demon King of theirs."

"Rightly so, Purah," Zelda said sternly. "It's the first story anyone learns about the Gerudo. They're always fighting it."

"Yes, even now. Else there would not be this war," Purah sighed, planting her cup back down into its saucer with a dejected clink. "Such an immense waste."

"The war?" Zelda asked. Purah shook her head.

"The Gerudo."

Zelda finished her cup once again, determinedly this time, and spoke softly, "We will find him, that I promise you. So long as Cinelgen lives, he is a threat to Hyrule… and to my throne."

Purah gazed at her, and Link thought he saw he researcher shake her head. "Well, well, look at you then. Hardly the troubled young girl my sister wrote to me about," She stood from her place and walked along the bench, taking Zelda's face into her hands.

"Impa would tell you to persist, I would tell you to abandon it all and sail west! But I see, you have your Father's eyes, girl, not in colour, but in soul. I know what you will do." She sat back down, and sipped again from her tea. "Uniting this place will not be easy, I'll say that."

Link watched Zelda's expression change, shifting from haunted grief at the mention of her father, to a strange peace and stillness. She smiled.

"That reminds me, Purah, if you'll grant me my leave," Zelda said, standing from her chair and nodding towards Purah's assistant. "Could Symin introduce me to the mayor?"

* * *

Symin walked Zelda into the town while Link remained to introduce Purah to Rhoamet. While the researcher lamented that she did not know as much about them as her colleague in Akkala, she was thrilled to meet with the first uncorrupted Guardian since her youth ('Well, since my first youth, technically').

Zelda found the apparent mayor of Hateno out the front of the Great Ton Pu Inn, his face shaded by a wide hat, and a pair of shears in his hands. He worked a row of bushes, pruning back the budding heads, lest they overcrowd and stifle the entire plant.

He listened silently and nodded slowly as Symin explained who they were, and the purpose of the meeting. When the assistant was done, he bowed again to take his leave. "Forgive me, Princess," he simpered. "Doctor Purah has asked me to look today at her finances and...well I hope you can understand."

Hiding a knowing smile, Zelda allowed him to go and turned to the mayor still working the garden.

"So… you are the one who now inhabits Hyrule Castle and calls herself Queen," he said in a voice as steady as stone. "I saw you with your companion, the Knight. He lives just over the river," he said, smacking his lips and continuing the prune the rose heads. "Though you don't, do you?"

"A pleasure to meet you…" Zelda said slowly, unsure of what to make of the mayor. He was an older man, perhaps her father's age, with bowed brown eyes and a gently lined face. He looked more a groundskeeper than a mayor, but Zelda had learned not to judge appearances these days.

"And you, Princess." The mayor bowed his head. "Leop. Humbled. I run this inn and this town."

"Leop," Zelda repeated. She straightened her coat. "If you have time, I've come to discuss the future of Hateno."

Leop laughed. "That almost sounds like a threat!" He lowered his shears. "But you do look the part, girl. My grandmother told me stories of the Princess of Hyrule. Golden hair, green eyes, much like you."

"Well, I-" she decided not to finish her sentence. This man already seemed sceptical of her, best not to blab on about her apparent resurrection. "I'd like to rebuild Castle Town, plainly, once this war is done. Hateno is currently the largest settlement in Hyrule, but it is also one of the most far flung settlements. Creating a central hub would facilitate trade, speed up travel and-"

"Take passers by from my town," Leop countered, sniping a rosebud from its stalk. "Travellers come here for respite, but they would always choose somewhere more central."

"I, well, forgive me, but," Zelda stammered, feeling a tight coil wind through her stomach. "I do not mean to take business from you."

"But you very well could. And then must we pay taxes to you and your crown? Send men to fill your armies? Escort your trade wagons?" Leop argued. To her horror, Zelda caught sight of Link approaching down the hill towards the Inn. Leop went on, "Forgive me, girl, but we have done just fine for one hundred years without a crown above our heads. Even the monsters are slowly petering out. I'm sure a new Castle Town would be splendid. But do not call on Hateno to build it for you - ah, Link! There you are."

Zelda turned to Link and tried to smile, but her face would not move. She almost felt sick, having been so succinctly rejected. I thought I was getting better at this.

Leop was not done. He had one final morsel of advice, cutting one last sprouting rose from the bush. "The Hylians value their survival above all, Princess. Show us your strength, and we will come to you." With a short bow to both herself and Link, Leop packed up his shears, bid them a good day, and returned to his inn.

Zelda placed her head in her hands, "Well, I honestly don't know what I expected. Pledge your town to help some unknown! Of course he'd laugh in my face."

"Well, he didn't give you an absolute no." Link soothed, placing an arm around her shoulders.

"I know. I know." Zelda did not want to whine. "But we're on our own - until we prove ourselves worthy."

Link chuckled. "Isn't that what we've always done? Haven't we already begun on that path?"

Zelda raised her head to look at the stately old inn, and thought, even this was not here once. She had to concede that Link was right. There was a turn of phrase on her tongue, she'd heard him say it a long while ago, but could not place it. From somewhere, to anywhere else, the only place to begin is the start.

But before she could happen upon the phrase, Inglis can bounding out of the Inn. "There you are!" he cried. "I have news!"

Link and Zelda turned to receive the Akkalan marching towards them. "Have you been to Akkala Citadel?" he practically demanded.

"Aye, a few months back," Link answered. "Why…?"

"It's been re-opened!" Inglis beamed. "All that purple shit was cleared out, and now people are living there!"

Zelda's hands slowly dropped from her face as she took in the words. "People?"

Inglis pointed to the inn. "I met some travellers, some Akkalans who-" and just as he turned, two young men were exiting the inn, laughing and chatting jovially between themselves, their packs strapped to their backs. Zelda recognised one as the soldier's son they had met at the Citadel, and the other as a Sheikah.

"Some Akkalans?" laughed Link, waving the travellers over, and soon all four were again exchanging hugs and pleasantries, with the two young men taking a short moment to bow before Zelda when they approached. The Sheikah ruffled Inglis' hair, grinning, "You scoundral! Keeping them from us!"

The soldier's son introduced himself as Nell, recalling the day they had met on the East Battlements of Akkala Citadel, and the Sheikah as Granté of Akkala, Robbie's son.

"Robbie's...son!?" Zelda half cried, unable still to picture any of her Sheikah allies as anything but their younger selves. "Of course! You...you look so much like him!"

She forgot Cinelgen then, and she forgot her disastrous meeting with the mayor. As Nell and Granté began to explain the works at the Citadel, her eyes flashed, filled with the visions of the kingdom she could build.

It was just as Link said; they had already begun.

* * *

"Surely for someone who'd stand out, he'd be easier to find!" Nell plonked his tankard down on the rough-grain wood of the table inside the public house, the dark ale slopping about the rim.

"We've only been looking for a few weeks," Zelda countered.

Another dead end, according to Inglis. No one in town reported having seen anyone even remotely like Cinelgen.

Link, Zelda, and their three Hylian companions had decided to hold a strategy meeting over a shared pot of crab stew and a jug of ale, though Link could not find a liking for the bitter drink. Stay sharp, his Father's voice said. Sharper than your sword.

"Something Leop said has been stuck in my mind," he piped up. "'Show them your strength, and they'll come to you'."

Zelda looked wounded by the words, the disappointment still new. "What do you mean?" She said in a small voice.

"Cinelgen wanted the Divine Beasts under his control right?" Link began, addressing the table. "There's one Beast we haven't visited yet."

Inglis' eyes went wide, and he let out a disbelieving puff. "You want to go to Eldin, again?"

Link nodded and understanding his plan, Zelda's protest was immediate. "No, it's too dangerous."

"Do you really think Yunobo would use his Divine Beast to fight?" he argued, quieting the voice that reminded him how fervently Yunobo's predecessor, Daruk, had devoted himself to protect Hyrule.

She mulled over the idea, but seemed unconvinced, staring into her still half-full cup of ale. "There is still a risk," she said, and though Link could not help but agree, he could think of no better plan.

"Think about it, Zel," he urged. "We first encountered Cinna the very day we inducted Sidon. We do the same with Yunobo and Rudania, and maybe he'll just come to us!"

"With however many men he has, undoubtedly," Granté added. "Could be quite the fight."

All eyes fell on Inglis; he answered the unspoken question, "Aurelia took his Yiga. Cinna only has his followers, what few are left."

Link cracked a smile. "We have a chance then. We'll go to Eldin, wake up Rudania, and hope that Cinelgen shows himself." He looked to Zelda for her approval, and while the concern was held on her face, she nodded.

"Searching isn't enough anymore, we have to lay a trap," and at her word, the decision was made.

* * *

The Goron brawler threw his huge arms wide and gathered all three Hylians into a hug when he saw them, saying, "You guys! You're actually here!"

The vibrancy that radiated from Yunobo was alone enough to quell any last minute concerns Zelda might have had about this mission. She had dreamt all night of how their plan might go wrong; of how the peaceful beast might suddenly rage, spitting fire like a dragon of the mountain, or how it might suddenly betray them, turning to leap back into the lava.

"You know, I wasn't sure when you summoned me," Yunobo said, releasing them. "But seeing the old Beast again just makes me so excited!"

The wait for their Goron Champion had not been long; by Yunobo's own account he had left for Eldin the minute the Rito courier had arrived with the letter of summoning. And their journey had not been direct. Despite his Guardian's low maintenance and hardy constitution, Link drew the line at taking Rhoamet up Death Mountain. Not only would their hike along the rocky mountain paths be precarious enough without a giant automaton to look after, the road would take them through the Maw - where there would be more people, and pertinently, more dead Guardians.

They had decided instead to leave Rhoamet with the Sheikah, with Granté and Nell remaining to watch over him. He just wants to talk to that Pawpaw girl, Nell had snided.

Paya had met them at the base of the stairs into her grandmother's house, shaking from what could have just as easily been joy as it was fear. Zelda had expected her, like the others, to cower at the sight of the Guardian. But when she smiled - and said, overjoyed, "Is that a Guardian!?" - she realised the reason none in Kakariko would fear Rhoamet. He is a Sheikah too. They are kin.

And so it was easy enough to convince Impa to let them leave Rhoamet in Kakariko while they travelled north to Eldin. Time was sadly so short; as much as Zelda wanted to stay, and find one more day's respite in the hidden village, they were all acutely aware that Cinelgen could be anywhere, and could appear at any moment.

Divine Beast Vah Rudania remained asleep and perched over the lip of Death Mountain when they approached. A remote diagnostic told her that he had entered a low-power state.

"How long as Rudania been asleep?" she asked Yunobo as they made the final hike to the Beast.

"A month or so?" he answered. "I'm not so great with time."

"Is something wrong with him?" Inglis asked tersely. Zelda pointed to the long seeps of Malice emerging out from between the crevices of Rudania's segmented face.

"He does not sleep voluntarily. That Malice has made it to his inner workings. I saw something similar with Vah Medoh."

The induction process would come first. Zelda was uncertain about performing the Cleansing Ritual on Rudania while he still sat perched on the lip of Death Mountain - afraid somewhat that they might unwittingly send him back into the volcano.

"It's been a little while since I studied elixirs," she added. "But I'm fairly sure fireproof elixirs will not also make us lava proof."

But they could not induct a pilot to an unconscious Beast. Once they had made it inside, she held a naked palm to Rudania's main control unit, letting her power flow into the nexus.

"Wake up," she whispered.

Like Medoh before him, controlled even if momentarily by the power of the Three on Zelda's right hand, Rudania awakened, the inner chamber filling with light and the joints of his vast body creaking from disuse.

Keeper. I awaken to follow your command.

"If you follow my command, then you will follow the command of my ally, Yunobo," Zelda addressed the Beast. Inglis and Yunobo were watching with muted amazement, while Link instead continued scanning the Beast with the Sheikah Slate - he had seen such an exchange before.

I am ready. Unveil your Champion.

Before they began the induction process, Inglis asked, "Would I be able to? It's just so fascinating…"

"More than welcome to!" Zelda smiled, happy to have a student. She stepped him through the process; where Yunobo should stand, the right setting on the Slate, the induction process itself, and Inglis was a fast learner.

"Ready when you are, big guy," he said.

Yunobo gave a quick salute. "Ready!"

It was over in a second, without so much as a sound, and soon Yunobo was giddily leading his Divine Beast down the side of Goron mountain, his Hylian companions struggling to maintain their balance on the steep incline. They settled on a line of cliffs that overlooked Hyrule Field, facing westwards, with Zelda happily calling the induction a success.

"Yunobo of Goron City, I officially induct you into the role of pilot of Divine Beast Vah Rudania. Now, if you will allow us…" Zelda extended an arm to Link, who was already unsheathing his sword. "We have one more Ritual to perform."

* * *

The change felt almost natural now; she was back, in the elsewhere. Zelda had preemptively removed her glove before beginning the Cleansing Ritual, and so now the Other Place shone as soon as she entered. The skies were an orange-gold, just as the last time she had seen them.

"Are you now ready to see what I promised to show you?" said the hooded woman. She was stood before the pedestal again, and this time Zelda saw that it was made of glass.

"I don't know," Zelda admitted. "How could I know?"

"We never do," the hooded woman sighed. She placed her hand on the pedestal.

Suddenly, Zelda's vision was filled with light; hundreds, if not thousands of echoes of past lives and other times filling passing before, swarming her. Zelda closed her eyes, distraught by what she saw.

"You must look!" the woman bellowed. "You must understand!"

And so, hesitant, but unafraid, Zelda looked.

It was a symphony. A thousand faces, a thousand lives. A boy, and a girl, and a kingdom. Sometimes held skyward, sometimes broken by time, sometimes adrift at sea, shrouded in twilight and darkness, or shielded by light and prosperity; through chaos, and peace, and war.

"W-what is this!?" Zelda cried.

The woman was gone. Only her voice remained. "This is Hyrule. This is you. Your history and your legend."

The visions were nearly impossible to parse, but in almost every image, almost every life - the Sword. The same sword that Zelda now held. Wielded by a warrior with an unbreakable spirit. Zelda gazed up at the faces and focused on the boy. Time had changed him from one life to the next; sometimes young or sometimes old, sometimes stoic, or cheeky, or lazy. But it was him. Amongst the faces was the one she knew. Eyes closed, his face turned towards a golden light.

"Link!" she breathed.

"Look beyond!" ordered the woman. "Who else do you see?"

Zelda tore her eyes away to study the wisps of history before her. In every life, she saw, almost always at the boy's side in one way or another, was a girl. A Princess, with destiny stamped onto her right hand. These are my sisters, she thought as she looked at the myriad of women before her. My kin.

"H-how many times have we done this, then?" Zelda asked, harrowed by what she had seen. "How many lives have we lived?"

The woman reappeared before her, face downcast with what almost seemed like shame. "Infinite," she said.

"So...so we will never stop fighting, then?! Even if we triumph now, Hyrule is doomed to fall once more, each and every time?"

The woman did not hesitate. "Yes," she said, as though the word was law.

"Then...then why bother!?" Zelda searched the visions for an end, a finale, but found none. "Why fight when we know we will eventually lose!?"

The visions converged into a single moment; the swing of a sword, cutting down a centre of darkness, and a sphere a light to swallow it whole. "Each victory may be followed by loss," the hooded woman said. "But each loss is followed by victory. All that matters is the peace in between."

Zelda could feel her hand burning where the golden crest was marked. She wanted to shield her eyes again, but could not look away. "You think I can bring them peace? For how long?"

"A single year of peace can be worth a hundred at war," the woman appeared before the pedestal again, and with another touch to the iridescent glass, the visions dissipated.

"You cannot prevent Ganon's return," her voice was crisp against the sudden silence. "But you can prepare for it. The Sheikah succeeded, ten thousand years ago, where your people failed. They walked a new path to victory. Hyrule needs these new paths, or history to learn from will become legend to be revered, as it has since the dawn of time. And then nothing will be gained."

Zelda could still see flashes of what she had been shown; the wheel on which time seemed to flow, the torrent that seemed to carry her people through its motions. If there is a way to make an end…

"Tell me what I must do," she said.

The hooded woman urged Zelda over to the glass pedestal, and with each step that she took, Zelda saw the light dance within the glass like ripples on a lake.

"The Champion - he is struggling still with himself," the woman explained. "There is a memory he must see, but not his own. Without it, he cannot make the decision that will lead him to the truth he desires."

Looking down into the glass, Zelda saw the shade of her reflection gazing back, "I can see...the past? All of it?" she asked, holding her hand above the pedestal.

"Just as I have shown you. We are not restricted here, by place, or time. We are unbidden."

All of history at her palm. So much she wanted to see. Her Father, her mother, her home...but at last she remembered. She had no home if she did not complete this mission. "Help me find Cinelgen," she commanded.

The woman stammered. "T-That isn't-"

"Help me."

"...lower your hand," the woman relented. "Focus. Think on his face. That's how you will find him."

Zelda lowered her hand and closed her eyes, remembering. She had only met Cinelgen twice, but his was not a face to forget. When she opened them, she was...back in Necluda. Somewhere amongst the mountains. Only she smelt smoke. She heard screams. She turned, and then she saw - Cinelgen on his horse, leading a charge into the village, his men at his back and a dozen Yiga in pursuit. She saw a white haired woman with one eye, and Yiga's unmasked, all converging on a sloping hill leading into the mountains. It was the past, but only a step backwards, rather than the bounds that the hooded woman had taken her. Perhaps only a few minutes, or seconds even. No matter the exactness of it, Zelda knew what she saw was true. And she knew - they had gone the wrong way.

* * *

The Ritual ended with a burst of light, but no sooner than it was done did Zelda turn to flee Rudania. Link called out after her, but she did not stop, bolting out of the Beast and across the rocky cliffs. There was barely time to sheathe his sword; Link ran after her, hearing the crunch of rocks behind him as Yunobo and Inglis followed.

"We need to go, Link," she said frantically, scanning the horizon.

"What did you see?" Link pressed. Zelda had told him of the visions she had seen in this...Other Place, and how she only seemed to reach it when she held the Sword. She had sung during this Ritual too - apparently another part of the puzzle.

"He's nearby! Necluda!" she stumbled, nearly falling, and Link managed to leap forward just in time to catch her. Only when they'd both been steadied did he realise what she had said.

"Necluda!?" he breathed. "But we were just-" he looked up towards the line of mountains in the distance. "Inglis, where would Cinna be-" Link felt a shuffle at his belt, and he jumped to his feet, spinning around to see Inglis with the Sheikah Slate in hand.

"I'm sorry," Inglis whispered, scurrying backwards to a nearby pool of lava, holding the Slate over the gurgling molten. He was sobbing, his cheeks patched red and slick with wet tears. Link understood immediately, mentally chiding himself for not thinking it sooner. He still belongs to Cinna.

"He said he'd have his men kill Mila," Inglis said, lips quivering as he sobbed. "He said he didn't need her now that he'd lost the Yiga. But he needed this." Inglis shook the Slate, and Link heard a strangled cry from Zelda.

Yunobo shifted forwards, but Inglis lowered the Slate above the lava. "If anyone moves I'll drop it! I will! I'll tell him you did it, or I'll just kill him myself!" He hurriedly opened the map on the Slate, selecting a travel waypoint seemingly at random.

"Inglis…" Link said slowly. "Don't."

The Akkalan shook his head, "I have to. I have no choice."

"You knew where he was all along, didn't you?" Zelda accused.

"Aye, pray you never need lie to a friend, Princess," Inglis said, his eyes never leaving Link. "But there's still time. Cinna won't anticipate a Guardian."

Kakariko. Link turned back towards Necluda and saw now what Zelda was looking for. Thick black smoke, rising high from the mountains of Lantern Lake.

"You can still save them," Inglis went on, a rueful smile on his lips, fattening his sunken cheekbones. Link winced; such rich pain, to see that smile again.

Inglis laughed, chuckling at a joke only he understood, "You know what, Link, I expect nothing less." And with a swift tap on the Sheikah Slate, he disappeared.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey friends!** **Apologies for the delay! The long and short is I got hit pretty hard with some new life responsibilities that I didn't anticipate a few months ago! I'm still working on FTGU, but just much slower.**


	21. Tower

Across bridges, between mountains, watching lazy palms overhead give way to newly flowering oaks and pines, heading south, then west, then north, with clouds or stars above, sand in her boots, muscles weak, heart pounding but never stopping; Aurelia gave chase like it was the only thing she knew. And now her horse had grown weak, its endurance run low.

The chase had led them all through Faron, almost as far as Lurelin Village, and then west to the ruins of Old Lurelin. Aurelia had heard the tale - the storm that had destroyed an entire fishing village and forced its people to meander until they found a new home in what was known today simply as Lurelin. _Cinelgen is my storm_ , she had told herself. _I will endure. My people will endure._ There were times when Aurelia had wanted to give in and let Cinelgen go. But each time she had such a thought, she looked upon her younger sister Hana and remembered the sister she had lost. "For Cassiah," she had told Hana. "We will kill him for her if nothing else."

Cinelgen had led the chase north, into the southern reaches of Central Hyrule, and at one point even into the ruins of the old Colosseum. They had almost caught him then when the entire group had encountered a silver Lynel. She had lost one of her number to the beast; horrifyingly, it had spit fire. Aurelia could still hear the screams. In the chaos, Cinelgen and his stragglers had escaped.

But suddenly, unexpectedly, they had reappeared in Hyrule Field. One of her scouts had spotted them walking in broad daylight, Cinelgen's hair like a beacon against the fields of renewed green. Her scouts had also reported seeing the lizard Beast walking down from Death Mountain, coming to rest on the cliffs and soon, being enveloped with light.

"We saw the same thing with the bird!" said Coya, one of the acolytes. "Some strange magic…"

 _Link_ , Aurelia surmised. _And perhaps, the Princess too_.

Aurelia thought that Cinelgen would seek to catch the Beast. She thought he would take them into Eldin, where she knew Link would be. But instead, Cinelgen kept on westwards, unhindered by the emptiness of the roads - a lingering effect of the conflict - and pushed further towards Necluda, leading them up a grassy slope into the mountains. When his party spotted hers, the chase began anew.

Hard and fast Cinelgen pressed his cohort - no more than half a dozen now - the grass and dirt kicked up by their horses' hooves. And harder Aurelia pushed hers, unafraid that her horse might fall. She had almost fifteen in her number, seemingly the last Yiga left in Hyrule; double what Cinelgen had. They could end this now.

The mountains pressed in close, soon narrowing into a winding pass, the path adorned with strings of wooden charms painted brown and red, marking what seemed to be a hideout beyond. _An old Yiga settlement? Where is he taking us?_

"We should slow!" Hana called from behind her. "It could be a trap!"

"No - we outnumber him more than two to one. We press on!" Aurelia called back.

Without warning the pass widened into a village. It was older than any Aurelia had seen, with architecture that she did not recognise. What was this place? How had she never heard of it? Was it only known to those who were bladed?

Undeterred, Aurelia led the charge into the village and was confronted with a vision of chaos. Several of the houses in the village were in flames, another one soon following as a duo of bomb arrows were fired towards it. Smoke filled the air, as did the stench of mud and the sounds of shrieks. Aurelia's horse reared at the sudden onslaught, and an arrow that sliced through its neck caused it to topple. She landed hard, pain lancing along her body, feeling her eyes rattle in her skull like marbles. She clawed at the grass and mud under her palms, crawling away from her still squirming horse.

"Find him!" she cried over her shoulder as her Yiga scattered. "We're being attacked!"

If she was heard, she could not know. The black smoke was pervasive, and the village all but disappeared. Eyes stinging and mouth tasting of ash, Aurelia staggered to her feet. A man with hair and garb both of white sprung forth through the smoke, a thin sword raised towards her. Aurelia dodged, spinning on her heel to elbow the man in the back. He crashed to the ground, and Aurelia fled forwards, intent on finding Cinelgen.

 _Who was he?_ Aurelia had not recognised him; she had never seen him among Cinelgen's followers, and she had thought the village abandoned. There was no time to think. She reached a deep pool with a Goddess statue at its centre, where she found Coya facing off with another dressed in white garb. Another stranger. _Who are these people?_ Reaching for her sickle, Aurelia rushed towards Coya, but the acolyte pushed his attacker into the pool before she could reach them.

"Find the others! Find my sister!" she ordered. "Something… isn't right!"

"By your word, Chief," Coya said, patting her on the back and disappearing into the smoke, the title startling her. _I'm not your Chief,_ she thought as she pressed on through the village. Out from the haze emerged an enormous raised house, with steep stairs leading up to a wooden dais. It was there that she spotted Cinelgen, avoiding the chaos, his Duplex bow in hand, two fizzling bomb arrows held between his fingers. _It was him,_ she realised, _he set these fires_. _Why?_

It did not matter; the time had come. Aurelia raced up the stairs, a dagger in hand. Cinelgen caught sight of her immediately, raising his bow and nocking an arrow in her direction. At that moment, the doors of the house burst open, and a tall Hylian girl - again with the white hair - leapt forward to tackle the Gerudo. Cinelgen loosed his arrow, but it missed, the debris exploding behind Aurelia. With a hard slap across the face, he gained the upper hand on the Hylian girl, but the tussle had given Aurelia enough time the climb the stairs, and draw her sickle. Clumsy from the adrenaline and the leeching panic, she swiped towards Cinelgen's neck when she reached him, but he deflected her blade with the limb of his bow, releasing the Hylian girl, and rising to shove Aurelia backwards. She teetered on the edge of the stairs, and nearly fell, but regained her composure to close in on Cinelgen once more. His eyes were laughing, green and greedy for her; as though she were prey or a lover, it was hard to tell.

In the distance, there was the call of a horn, and soon another round of screams. _The Guardian,_ someone shouted, and just for a moment, Aurelia turned.

She saw blue, and then her vision went white, pain splitting like lightning across her temple. She crashed against the wood of the dais, tasting blood on her lips. Above, the hazy vision of a Gerudo in red and purple retreated, and was replaced by the Hylian girl.

"Are you hurt?!" the girl cried, pulling Aurelia up. When their eyes met, and Aurelia's hood fell away, her face froze. "Wait… you're not Sheikah..." she stammered, and Aurelia saw on the girl's face - the tattoo of the eye of the Sheikah. An inverted Yiga eye.

"But you are," Aurelia said. She looked back down the stairs towards the village, spotting a line of frog statues painted with the Sheikah eye. This wasn't a Yiga hideout at all - Cinelgen had indeed bled them into a trap. Aurelia scrambled to her feet. _He planned this_.

In the distance, Cinelgen was riding from town, the remainder of his followers in tow. Around her, the village burned, while below the Sheikah fought her Yiga. _As they have for thousands of years_. And in the midst, unmistakable; the five-legged Guardian who had taken her eye, panicking and rampaging, swatting savagely at any who crossed his path.

Aurelia seised the Sheikah girl by the shoulders. "Link!?"

"Not here. Eldin!" the girl replied, face wrought with fear.

Aurelia pointed to Rhoamet. "Then why-?"

"To keep him safe!"

A beam of searing energy arced across the courtyard below, exploding against a cliff's edge that bordered the town. There was another shriek, this time one she recognised, and Aurelia could do nothing but watch helplessly as one of the Sheikah warriors buried his blade into Coya's chest. _We will destroy each other, once and for all._ It had to be stopped.

But... Cinelgen was escaping, riding out through southern pass. From below, Aurelia heard the shouts. The familiar words; _kill it! Shut it down!_

"Stop!" she cried, unable to deliberate any longer. She bounded down the stairs to the courtyard. "Stop, everyone!"

Her Yiga had been pushed into the centre of the village, surrounded by the Sheikah. Hana saw Coya's body, and wailed at the sight, while the rest of the Yiga kept their sickles raised, ready to meet any further attacks. Aurelia burst through the crowd to reach her people, heading straight for her sister Hana, who was crouching over Coya's body. "These aren't Cinelgen's people!" Aurelia told them. "They are Sheikah! We cannot fight them!"

"Are you sure about that?" one of the Yiga spat.

"As your Chief - no, as your Master, I command it! Stand down!"

The Yiga who challenged her stood a foot taller than her at least; he was younger, but stronger, an acolyte named Theo. "Do not fight me _here_ ," Aurelia whispered. Theo bowed his head and turned back towards the Sheikah that surrounded them.

Before the tension could break, another beam of energy rocketed above their heads. A trio of Sheikah was trying to subdue him, but one made the mistake of attacking, and the Guardian began to panic once more. Without thinking, as if drawn to the creature, Aurelia ran towards the Guardian. His beady eye flashed, and his remaining metal legs thrashed, but fearless she dodged between them and leapt onto Rhoamet's shell. He wheeled away from her, broad head and body spinning, but Aurelia held firm, gripping one his handles and pulling herself up onto his domed head.

"Rhoamet! Rhoamet!" Aurelia cried, struggling to keep her hold on him. "Don't you remember me? Aurelia? I was a friend of Link!"

Backwards still Rhoamet stumbled, and around him, Aurelia caught sight of the Sheikah scrambling to evade his path.

"Link! I knew Link!" she said again, directing the words to Rhoamet's shining eye. "I need you to calm down, if not for me then for _Link_!"

At last, Rhoamet began to slow, and then, he started to blink. Aurelia had not learned much of Link's code, but she remembered a few things. Most of all, she remembered the phrase Rhoamet used the most.

 _Link_

"Yes!" Aurelia beamed, patting Rhoamet's ceramic head. "Link! I knew him. He's coming back for you, I know he is."

And at that, Rhoamet sat, plonking down against the grass. Above, the sky had opened, and a torrential rain put an end to the fires that Cinelgen had started. Aurelia climbed down from the Guardian's body and turned to see the Sheikah of the village staring at her in shock. Her Yiga were unharmed, still crowded around Coya's body, but still encircled by the blades of the Sheikah.

Aurelia looked up at the dais. "We are not your enemy!" she told the Sheikah girl still waiting there. An elderly woman had appeared by her side, wearing a full hat adorned with heavy, dangling chains.

"Then who _are_ you?" the elderly woman asked.

There was no point hiding it, even if it meant more danger. Aurelia had no qualms with the Sheikah, despite her own birth; in fact, these were the first she had ever met. And her people were injured, in need of respite, lest they die before ever reaching Cinelgen.

Raising her right arm, Aurelia peeled back her sleeve, revealing the tattoo of the Yiga eye. Before she could speak, the Sheikah bristled, but she ignored them.

"My name is Aurelia of Karusa Valley. I was born to the Yiga, and now, I am their Master," she addressed the elderly woman. "But I have no fight with your people. I am a friend of Link's, and I am known to this Guardian. My people were led here, tricked by Cinelgen!"

"Yiga!" someone cried. "We should kill them all!"

"Traitors!" cried another, moving forward with his two-fold blade pointed towards Aurelia.

"No!" came the voice of Sheikah girl from the dais. She ran down the stairs, positioning herself by Aurelia's side. "This Yiga saved my life. It was Cinelgen who attacked our homes! She tried to stop him!"

The elderly women held a hand to her chin. "Is this so, Paya?" she asked ponderously, walking one step at a time to the base of the stairs. When she approached, the crowd parted.

"It is, grandmother," the Sheikah girl answered.

The Shiekah elder stood before Aurelia, looking at her with laboured, knowing eyes. No truth would escape this woman, Aurelia saw.

"I am afraid I cannot allow you to stay. There is too much history between our people," the elderly woman began. "But I can allow you to go. Travel north, and find a fairy fountain. There you can rest, and heal your wounded."

"Thank you, sincerely. We will do as you say," Aurelia nodded, and then she looked to Rhoamet. "Will he be safe with you?"

"We cannot keep him _here_!" protested one of the Sheikah. "He almost destroyed the town!" The Shiekah muttered in agreement, many casting concerned glances towards the automaton.

"We promised Link that we would watch over him," the elderly woman scolded. She moved through the crowd towards Aurelia, and when she reached Rhoamet, she placed a frail hand on one of his legs. "My apologies, Rhoamet," she addressed the Guardian. "We failed to keep you safe, but at least you had a friend here."

Rhoamet looked down at the tiny woman, and then to Aurelia, and back again.

 _Yes_ , he said. _Aurelia._

* * *

Acting on the advice of the Sheikah elder, Aurelia took her Yiga north into the woods, and they made camp by the luminescent Fairy Fountain that was hidden there. Once or twice, she had been curious to attempt to summon the being that dwelled in the pool - perhaps to seek aid in healing her wounded, or even just for curiosity's sake. But the day had been extraordinary enough, what with a truce between the Sheikah and the Yiga, and her own success in calming Rhoamet. Aurelia did not want to push her luck.

The plan was to move on at dawn, and continue the search for Cinelgen. The loss of Coya was a tragedy, yes, but thankfully the rest of her kin were mostly unharmed. A few cuts and bruises, one or two slashes, a broken bone. They were safe, and able, for now.

Rhoamet had been led to the fountain as well, and Aurelia had told him to sleep, and wake for nothing but Link's voice, promising that the Champion would surely return from Eldin soon. And soon it was - sooner than Aurelia expected - that she heard Link's voice for herself.

" _Aurelia! Rhoamet!_ " came the call, and when she turned, she saw two riders bounding into the woods. Link, outfitted in blue and white, and a golden haired girl that could only be the Princess. She was a regal little thing, but a touch less proper than Aurelia had been expecting. Her hair was short, barely past her shoulders, braided away from her face but otherwise unadorned. Her clothes were practical and weathered, and beneath the girl's dark woollen coat Aurelia spotted a leather chest guard. And at her back, most curious of all, was a white and gold bow, though strangely she carried no quiver. Link still wore his goggles around his neck, Aurelia saw. He raced straight past her, making a beeline for his Guardian. When the automaton woke to his voice, Link cried out with joy, leaping onto Rhoamet's shell to wrap his arms around his domed head.

"You okay, buddy?" he asked, and Rhoamet replied with a simple, _Yes_. Satisfied, Link returned to where Aurelia stood, helping Zelda dismount from her horse.

"Where did Cinna go?" he demanded.

Aurelia smirked, leaning back and tucking her thumbs into her belt loops. "Pleasure to see you too, Champion." She nodded to the golden-haired girl and bowed. "You must be the Princess. Honoured."

Zelda bowed in return. "I've heard much about you, Aurelia." The Princess smiled warmly, in a way that was almost unsettling. "Was Cinelgen truly here?"

"Aye, he tricked us into fighting," Aurelia explained with a sigh. "I had to let him go to stop it. I wish there had been another way, I really do."

The Princess face betrayed no anger or disappointment. She merely nodded in understanding, and said, "At least your people are safe."

"What about Inglis?" Link interrupted. "He has the Slate, you know."

"Inglis?" Aurelia raised an eyebrow. "I haven't seen him in weeks. He was with Cinelgen in Faron and then he just… disappeared. I assumed he escaped."

Link's brows furrowed. "Well he didn't," he said bitterly, face twitching at the words. "He is still loyal to Cinna."

Aurelia clicked her teeth, shaking her head and muttering, "Stupid boy. Stupid, stupid boy," The revelation bothered her more than she expected. "That bitch Milagre, he's still enraptured by her despite everything."

"But I thought she ended things…" Link said, and Aurelia could not help but laugh.

"When it suited her, sure, so that Cinna knew she was loyal." Aurelia kicked the dirt with her boot, low frustration bubbling within her. "But I know Mila. She doesn't look it, but she's a hoarder. Books, trinkets, memories, love. The boy will die before he's free of her."

The golden Princess listened quietly, face a little clouded with confusion, and Aurelia wondered how much of the Winter Link had told her. "If I may, Aurelia," she asked. "Why are you here and not in the village?"

"I have allowed them to coalesce here, away from the village,"

They turned to see the elderly Chief standing behind them - the woman who Aurelia now knew as Impa - accompanied by her granddaughter, Paya. "I have come to check on your party, Aurelia, if that helps."

"But she stopped the attack," Zelda said. "This woman saved your village. Why exclude her?"

Impa spoke plainly, her words almost law. "She is Yiga. For time immemorial we have been enemies-"

"She is _Link's friend_ , and the only person in all of Hyrule to find Cinelgen," Zelda protested. "Put aside your enmities, Impa, no matter how _immemorial_. I will not see her people mistreated for their birth."

"Well now," Aurelia smiled. "I can see what he liked about _you_."

"As you say, Princess," Impa said somberly, her head bowed low, though Aurelia caught a smile dancing on her lips. "Do as you please, Aurelia of Karusa. Come into the village, or rest here. I will ensure that you are free to do either."

The elder turned to walk back into the village, but her granddaughter begged her to wait one moment. "I just want to thank you," Paya said, her hands at her chest. "And apologise. You saved my life, all of our lives, even knowing who we were."

"It's what anyone would have done," Aurelia shrugged.

"Of course," Paya said shyly, and she escorted her grandmother back down the path to the village.

With Link's help, the rest of the Yiga were healed with the power that he had once used to repair what was left of Aurelia's eye. Once they were done, Aurelia looked towards the direction Cinelgen had fled. "How are your horses?" she asked. "We have another chase yet."

"Where would he have gone?" Zelda wondered.

Aurelia looked around at her recovering group of Yiga, and down towards the still smoking village. The answer was not difficult to find; "He will go where he can cause chaos," she said.

* * *

Down through the mountains of Necluda they raced, across Blatchery Plain and once more through Fort Hateno, to the place where Zelda quietly hoped she would not find Cinelgen. _The Hylians have suffered enough_ , she thought in silent prayer. _Preserve them this day._

But the prayer was not answered. Link and Zelda rode breathlessly ahead of Aurelia's Yiga, finding Hateno already under attack. Cinelgen's motley of followers were tearing through the town with torches in hand, setting fire again to the homes and cutting down any who got in their way. But the fires would not catch, the rain overhead relentless as it had been since their arrival to Kakariko the night prior. She was thankful then that Link had decided to leave Rhoamet in the village once more; she had heard about his outburst. And the scene before her was much worse than Kakariko had been.

The inhabitants of the town were in a fray, fleeing from the burning buildings and stumbling across the muddy ground. Leop stood outside the general store, distraught as the town burned around him. Zelda broke away from Link and the Yiga, hurrying to where the mayor stood.

"Get your people north!" she commanded him. "To the Tech Lab, the building with the blue flame!"

Leop gave an affirmative nod. "Yes, Princess," he said, and began rounding his people up to push north through the town.

Through the chaos, Link, Zelda and Aurelia weeded out the attackers but found only four. They met them as they stormed the inn; Aurelia cutting one down with her sickle, Link finishing off two with his Master Sword, and Zelda piercing the last through the eye with an arrow. The rains did not cease, and soon the fires were out, but Cinelgen was nowhere to be found. Leop returned down the hill to the inn, his leathery face red from exhaustion, but he reported that all who he had evacuated were safe, taking refuge with the researcher that lived there, and his daughter.

"I have not seen your Gerudo," Leop frowned. "No one has."

"But he must be here!" Zelda insisted, turning to scan the town for any sign of Cinelgen.

"So where did he go?" Aurelia added. They all looked then, but it was Link who found him.

He pointed towards a waft of smoke coming from the southwest, long and thin. With a hint of resignation, he said, "Home."

* * *

The fire was still lit, crackling softly in the hearth. The curtains were drawn, and the windows shuttered, and so, no light breached the house, the only illumination the fire, casting drawn and looming shadows.

Cinelgen did not turn when Link and Zelda entered the house alone. He stood before the fire, his long velvet cloak wet and hanging on the mantle to dry, his hair soaked against his scalp, his hand held out to the flames. Zelda spotted his Duplex bow still slung over his back, the accompanying quiver half-full of arrows.

"This place really is lovely," the Gerudo said. "So simple. Unassuming. It makes sense really. What else would be left, after what Ganon did to the world?"

Link spoke before Zelda could even think of a reply. "Not much. But it is still worth something," he said, ambling towards the fire. "I know it can be lonely, for people like us."

Cinelgen laughed bitterly. " _Us_?" he said. "There was never an us, you said so yourself. We were never on the same side."

"But we could have been," Zelda argued, following close behind Link. "We never needed to be enemies. You said my people were leaves to the wind, but you fed the flames that scattered them."

"I've never had a 'people,'" Cinelgen scoffed.

"What about the Gerudo?" Zelda asked.

He gave a desultory wave of his hand. "I never knew them. I've never been within ten miles of Gerudo City. My mother raised me in isolation. She told me how I would be treated."

"But you had Gerudo in your followers," Link challenged him. "Devotees!"

At last Cinelgen turned. "Outcasts. Interlopers. Bandits. Those were my followers." He paced through the room, running a long-fingered hand over the furniture, his emerald eyes never meeting theirs. "People that didn't like the narrow paths they were given. My mother told me that mine was a life of isolation, that my aunts and cousins would hate me just for who I was."

He raised his eyes, reaching slowly for his bow. Zelda readied herself, a hand shifting towards her own weapon. Cinelgen went on, unaffected by the rising tension.

"My mother was murdered, in Gerudo Valley, by a bladed Yiga who found our little hut. I wanted to kill that masked bastard more than I ever wanted anything, but I let him take me to Karusa. You know why?"

Zelda held her breath. Cinelgen's voice was thick as caramel, rich with a heavy burden, a lifelong weight finally given up. His eyes became glassy with tears as he spoke. "I learnt that the only change is the change we make. I knew then that this whole world - this monster infested, empty, isolated world - needed to change, and the Yiga taught me how."

"But… none of this needed to happen," Zelda said, trying to understand. "Change is inevitable and arduous, but it need not be destructive."

The Gerudo shook his head. "What else gets anything done? But, I almost gave up, I admit. Your attack took nearly everything I had." He ran a loving hand over the limbs of his painted bow, fingers tracing between the spikes. "I was ready to let you have your turn. But that golden haired beauty - I forgot she had a family."

"All the Yiga had a family, Cinna," Link frowned. He had raised a hand to the hilt of his Sword. They were all ready, waiting for whatever ripple would break the tension on the surface.

"Families I destroyed, I know," Cinelgen conceded. "Little Aury reminded me that _destruction_ is all I am. She said I would destroy towns, well, she got what she wanted. I was told I would always be compared to that King of Thieves, but I wanted to be more. I wanted to shape chaos into being." A weak smile broadened on his weathered face, revealing yellowed teeth. "Like a God!"

Cinelgen drew two arrows from his quiver, preparing to nock them into his bow. He moved slowly, as if drunk, or in a dream. Zelda cast a quick glance towards Link; he had tightened his grip on the hilt. Any second now and the room would implode.

"Were you going to die alone, Cinna?" Link warned. "After all you've done?"

"I am not done," Cinelgen shook his head, nocking the arrows. "Tell me; Inglis, did he succeed?"

Link's eyes darkened, a hard scowl forming on his face. "Where did you send him?"

Cinelgen shrugged. "Even if you find him, he will always belong to _me._ My regime ends with him."

" _Where did you send him?_ " Link demanded.

The Gerudo said nothing. His only answer was a whistle, his greedy smile turning expectant, but nothing happened. Instead, the door opened, and Aurelia stepped into the house. Cinelgen's eyes went wide with horror.

"Where are my men!?" he barked.

"Oh, your ambushers?" Aurelia spun her bloodied sickle between her hands in a lazy, loping circle. "Men stationed on the roof to massacre us all? Gone. As with the last of your troops. Your regime is _over_."

With a growl, Cinelgen loosed the two arrows towards them, but Zelda blocked in time with a barrier, and lighting fast Link surged forward to seize Cinelgen's bow and snap it in two. It fell broken to the floor, splintered and useless, while Aurelia's Yiga flooded into the house to drag Cinelgen outside. He flailed and kicked, roaring insults and threats, as they hauled him into the centre of the town. The rains were falling harder now, the rolling clouds above a sullen and oppressive grey. With fearful eyes, the villagers that remained in the town watched from the safety of their homes or crouched behind walls and around corners. Zelda spotted Leop among them, keen interest on the old man's face.

The Yiga shoved Cinelgen to his knees, binding his arms tightly behind his back. When he struggled, one of them socked him across the face, and again when the Gerudo did not relent. After a third punch, he was subdued, blood running down his chin from where his lip had been split. Aurelia reached for her sickle, but Zelda stopped her.

"We promised him to Chief Riju."

"And Riju will have him," Aurelia answered, holding her sickle raised. "Once he is dead. I must do this for my people."

Zelda stood firm, squaring up to the taller woman. She willed herself not to be intimidated. "Your people have historically been enemies to the crown. I cannot let you-"

"Then I will pledge my support to you, and forever put down my blade against any and all citizens of Hyrule. As will my _people_ , if you allow me to kill this traitor."

The Yiga woman's gaze was as sharp as her blade, but there was honesty in her severity. Zelda looked to Link, and without hesitation, he nodded.

"Why do this?" she asked. "You do not know me."

Aurelia pointed her blade towards Link, grinning cheekily. She winked and said, "I know he trusts you, and I know I trust him. You want to rebuild Hyrule. I want to give my people a new home. Our ambitions align."

Cinelgen had been watching with an amused smirk, his bright lips red from the blood. "The Princess and her Knight," he taunted, writing against his binds and gnashing his teeth. "Made murderers by none other than myself! You aren't brave enough to kill me!"

The eyes of Hateno were watching; as were the Yiga, and Link and Aurelia. The time to make the decision was short. Feeling her Father standing at her back, Zelda stood before Cinelgen, and raised her hand towards him, speaking as loudly and clearly as she could.

"Cinelgen of Gerudo. You are accused of numerous crimes. Murder. Treason. Conspiracy. Usurping the crown, and many more."

Link approached the still squirming Gerudo and crouched before him.

"I'm not just a Knight," he said quietly.

"For your crimes, I, Zelda of Hyrule-"

"Then what are you?" Cinelgen spat.

"I don't yet know. But I will always be _more_ than you. In every way there is. Words hurt, but words disappear. And you were never anything but words."

"-sentence you to death."

Zelda lowered her hand and nodded to Aurelia.

"You were wrong about us both," she said as the Yiga woman drew her sickle once more. "I'm not a Princess, Cinelgen. I'm a _Queen_."

Aurelia's sickle glistened, now washed clean by the rains, and it caught the light when she held it against Cinelgen's neck. He stiffened, understanding crossing his features, andfought to the last, thrashing and whimpering, begging softly, _you can't, you won't_. Aurelia was swift, unfeeling; an executioner born.

Cinelgen made no sound, and struggled no more, the smile on his face outmatched only by the bright red smile that split his neck. He slumped forward, falling face down onto the mud and grass, his red hair turned black by the rain.

* * *

Minutes passed before any in the crowd moved. Even Aurelia watched with a solemn stillness, muttering at last, "Well, that's that." It was Link who checked that the Gerudo was indeed dead, finding, or perhaps _not_ finding a pulse, and giving the signal of what had come to pass.

The villagers had not departed, eager, if a little greedy, to witness the aftermath. Zelda surveyed the crowd and saw only strangers. _And yet they are my people. Do they understand what has happened here?_

Raising her voice against the incessant rain, she said, "All of this happened because I allowed Hyrule to falter - a failure I will never forget. And I know you do not know me, but that will not stop us. We will work for the rest of our lives to ensure this never happens again. And I promise you, Hyrule will never falter again."

In the crowd, she spotted Leop once more and saw the old man smile.

And just when she thought a silence had fallen, through the sound of the rain and the roar of thunder overhead, Zelda heard the sound that had been their first call to action; the first hint of the chaos she had just quelled, of the regime she had just ended.

It echoed between the mountains, so loud and so deep that it shook the ground; the trumpeting roar of an elephant.

All turned towards the cliffs in the north, to where Divine Beast Vah Ruta sat perched atop her plateau. And all watched as, impossibly, the Beast fired a tremendous blast of energy towards Hyrule Castle, the great beam soaring through the sky, and narrowly missing the mountains to the west.

"Goddess preserve us," Aurelia murmured.

They were powerless against the retaliation that followed. In the far away Hebra mountains, Vah Medoh angled towards Lanayru. On the cliffs of Eldin, and the mesas of Gerudo, Vah Rudania and Vah Naboris followed, orienting themselves towards Vah Ruta.

Link's gaze was set steadfast to Lanayru. "It was Inglis," he murmured, almost mournful. "He has the Slate, he must be with Vah Ruta."

There was no more convincing needed. Zelda was already making for her horse. "Someone needs to go to the Castle, to protect it-"

"-and someone to Ruta, to stop her," Link added.

In unison, with terrible understanding, their eyes met. She felt that Link's thoughts were her own then. She could almost hear them. And as further proof, they turned at once towards Aurelia.

"I will take the body to Kakariko so that it is secure," she said, not needing any further prompt. For the first time since they had met, Zelda saw fear in the woman's eyes. She cast a nervous glance up towards the Beast in Lanayru. "End this tragedy before it begins."

The Castle to the west. The Beast to the north. This was where their paths split once more. Zelda intertwined her hand in Link's, unwilling to surrender him just yet.

"I lost you, for so long," Zelda squeezed his hand so tight that her own knuckles ached. "And then again and-" The words were on her tongue. If she said them, they would be little more than a whisper. "What little time we've had and I… Link, what if we never see each other again?"

Link drew her in close, running a hand through her hair. "You know I-"

" _No._ No don't," Zelda pushed away from him. "Say it when we return to each other."

He laughed, his face so sweet and bright that it hurt her to look upon it. "Don't want to jinx it?" he teased, and Zelda could not help but smile.

"Even now, you make it all seem okay," she sighed, shaking her head. "How?"

He was at ease as he always seemed to be. Shrugging and undemanding, Link made no show of the revelation; "I dunno. Maybe because I love you."

Zelda slapped his arm. " _You-!_ " But then she kissed him, deeply, _desperately,_ feeling his arms pull her in close. "You are not allowed to die," she whispered as they drew apart. "Not again. Not just because you've said it now, and not just because I love you too."

For a moment, it seemed they might not be able to part as circumstance demanded. Link clutched her tight, beholding her with an expression that was nothing short of joy, and if there was anything around them but him, Zelda did not see it. But the rain had not stopped, and it was a sudden flash of lightning overhead that reminded her of the storm before them. "Let us go," she said. "Go so that we can return."

Releasing her, Link gave a short and formal bow. "As my Queen commands," he said, and they parted ways.

* * *

The paraglider caught the gusts of air easily, sending Link soaring high above the cliffs. A gift from an old rival; a gale to carry him to the Beast beyond. There was a certain glee in it; the rush of the wind past his ears, and the rush of blood through his veins. _She loves me_ , he repeated in his head. He was courage born then. _Let the storm come_.

Vah Ruta remained perched towards Hyrule Castle, a faint but ominous red beam aimed towards the Castle centre. The hurried and desperate journey to reach her had not been easy; the rain was nothing short of unnatural.

When he finally climbed over the perch of Ruta's Plateau, Link was nearly spent from relying so heavily on Revali's power to carry him up along the slick and unscalable cliffs. His fingers were red raw and aching from the climbing, as well as half frozen from gripping the icy cold rocks.

On the plateau, he was met with a retinue of anxious Zora, waiting by the banks of the pool at the centre, with Ambassador Larella leading them. She looked a Princess crowned, adorned in weaving silver jewels, the necklace she wore bearing a brilliant sapphire; but the Prince was not with her.

"Link!" she cried, running towards the cliffs to meet him. "Praise the Goddess. Sidon has been taken!"

"Where is he?" Link asked, and forebodingly, Larella turned to Vah Ruta. It was only then that Link realised the Beast had been completely sealed, the entrance closed and the pavilion archways at its stern blocked by panels of ancient ceramic. And worse still the Beast seemed to be sucking water in through its body and launching it into the air through her trunk, great waterfalls of water cascading down into the lake; it was the way she had been when he'd first encountered her. _So you are the source of the rain_ , Link realised.

"He was captured," Larella began to explain. "We tried to get in, but Ruta is sealed from the inside, and they have archers posted atop her…"

Squinting, Link spied the trio of archers with lean longbows stationed on Vah Ruta. "How long ago?" he asked.

"A few hours. I was here with him. We noticed the smoke in Necluda and then these Hylians came from nowhere and..." Larella wrapped her arms around herself, shaking, from the cold or from the shock - Link placed a steadying hand against her own, and she swallowed, regaining her composure. "I don't know if they have taken control or if he is being forced. But I know Sidon would never voluntarily fire Vah Ruta."

Link turned back towards the Beast. _Hylians_ , Larella had said. _Inglis is here, and Mila too._ He looked upon Vah Ruta's outer workings, and concentrated, thinking on a way he might force a way inside. Some way he might _reset_ her. He focused on what he had been; what he had done. The repetitions, the recapitulations, each Beast he had met with its own story and personality.

Link looked up Ploymus Mountain and understood what he must do.

"Larella, who among your number is the strongest swimmer?"

* * *

Down through the field and between the Duelling Peaks Zelda raced; a lone Queen on her horse, riding hard for home. Absurdly, she recalled a time when she had wanted nothing more than to be alone. To be an independent traveller, without the burden of duty or importance.

But now, she could not imagine riding slower. She could not imagine tossing aside her duty. The home was hers; it had always been hers. She was born to protect it.

She spied Vah Medoh tucked amongst the Hebra mountains. Zelda tried to picture the white-feather Rito Warrior at its helm. _What are you thinking?_ She wanted to ask him. _What do you make of all this?_

Zelda was not sure what she would do once she reached the Castle. But she had to protect it. Not just because of the people who now lived there; Hyrule Castle was the only proof left that she and her family had ever lived at all. It was the only proof that her home had once been united. If it crumbled; if it fell, then there was no hope left.

She emerged from between the peaks and turned her horse northwards.

* * *

There had only been time to scavenge four shock arrows from Ploymus Mountain; the savage Lynel who lived there had found him not long after that. Link had narrowly escaped the beast by leaping from the cliff's edge and sailing with his paraglider back down to Vah Ruta.

None other than Larella herself had volunteered to carry Link through the waters in his slapdash, haphazard attempt to unseal Vah Ruta. She would be quick and harder to hit, on account of being small in size. _Just like Rhoamet_ , Link could not help but think, hoping his own beast was okay.

Together they tore through the waters, arrows swishing into the waters from above. Larella approached the first waterfall, leaping up through the column of water and launching Link high above Vah Ruta. Once he began to fall, he felt his pulse slow, and his eyes dilate. Time flowed differently; and there it was, the _song_ that Zelda so favoured. But he had heard it before. Or perhaps he had always heard it?

The first shock arrow found the nexus, and Ruta shrieked. The second found one of the archers posted, before Link tumbled down into the waters. The next three in series followed; an arrow for Ruta and an arrow for the archers, until Ruta was appeased once more. She shuddered, jolting in the waters, and her sealed walls slid open.

"Launch me again! Before they reseal her!" Link shouted to Larella, and the Ambassador carried him to one of the waterfalls, scaling the water one last time to send Link skywards. Angling his paraglider towards the stern, Link sailed into Vah Ruta as Larella called from the waters,

"Bring him back to me, Link!"

He landed in the central chamber, its waters still flooded, and met with a familiar face; Sidon, bound hand and foot by thick ropes, and bloodied from whatever beating it took to bring him here. He was barely conscious and did not seem to notice Link hurriedly rush to his side and frantically pat his cheeks to try and stir him.

" _Sidon!"_ Link whispered harshly. "Are they here? Inglis and Milagre?"

The Prince's mouth fell slowly open, his enormous yellow eyes little more than slits, swollen and black from the beating. "Link?" he croaked, before smiling a crooked, broken smile. "My friend, you're here!"

"Of course," Link assured him, working the ropes that bound him. "Friends keep each other safe."

 _Though I failed you on that front,_ Link thought. But it was not too late. He could save Sidon, and then he would save Inglis - as the Akkalan boy had expected him to do. Summoning his strength, Link placed his hands on his chest and felt the power coalesce between them.

"They went to the trunk, the two Hylians," Sidon managed, grimacing at the pain of speaking. "... what are you doing?"

"I have a gift for you, Sidon, given to me by your sister," Link answered, steadying himself against the strange feeling of hollowness; of letting out a breath that never seemed to end. "She'd want you to have it."

"Anything for her," Sidon grinned, revealing broken teeth and bloodied lips. Focusing, Link pressed the ball of power into Sidon's chest and watched it dissipate from between his fingers. In seconds, the Prince began to heal, and at that moment, Link felt Mipha's presence between them. _Thank you one last time, Mipha_ , he thought, chest heaving at the sudden rush of grief.

Sidon gripped Link by the shoulders, his lucidity and strength returned. "Link, you must find them," he urged. He let out a weak sigh. "They took Ruta from me. They will use her again,"

There was no time to ponder. Link helped the Prince stand and said, "Go then, Larella is waiting for you. I will find these Hylians."

* * *

Their bickering could be heard from halfway across the Beast; they were stood atop Ruta's trunk, by one of the control terminals, arguing so fiercely that Link thought for a moment they might come to blows.

"Are you insane!?" Inglis shouted. "You have no idea what you are doing! You cannot fire her again!"

"I am following orders," Milagre snapped. "As should you!"

When Link glided in and landed on the trunk platform, Milagre for once could not hide her shock.

"Champion?" she hissed, immediately stowing the Sheikah Slate in her hands and reaching for the dagger at her belt. Inglis on the other hand, could barely suppress a smile, turning swiftly to grab Milagre's arm. " _Don't_ ," he warned.

Link held up a hand, but for a moment did not speak. He wanted to take in what he saw; to observe, and understand, as his months in Hyrule Castle had taught him to do. "I've not come to fight you, Milagre," he eventually said. "But you are making a mistake."

Milagre shoved free of Inglis' grip. "You know nothing of me. Either of you!"

"True, I'll admit it," Link said. "You were the toughest piece of the puzzle. If you wanted power, you could have had Cinna killed at any time. But then I realised. Something I didn't understand until I'd experienced it for myself." He lowered his hands. "You love them both. You want what you had with them both."

"This is nonsense!" Milagre protested, but the sudden fury on her face told Link that he was right.

"I understand, I really do," he went on. "You want things to be the way they were," He looked to Inglis. "So much so that you would wage war for it." The Akkalan had not moved, stuck in Milagre's shadow, though he was blocking her path to the control terminal.

"The way things were?" Milagre spat. "That is the opposite of what we wanted. For ten _thousand_ years my people were hated by all, simply for disobeying your Princess' ancestor! Cinna was hungry for change, I gave him his direction. I knew that if that Hylian bitch retook her crown, nothing would change! I am the pilot of this Beast now, and when Cinna rules-"

"Cinna is dead," Link interjected, hardly believing the words. "If nothing else will convince you, then let it be that."

Inglis' face dropped. "How?" he whispered. Milagre was not as easily convinced. She glared at Link with sceptical, hating eyes as behind her, Inglis began to weep.

This was the last thing he wanted, Link realised. Despite everything - all the plotting and lies and gambles to keep himself alive - he'd wanted the trio's friendship as much as anyone else's. "I'm sorry, I mean that," he said earnestly. "I did not want Cinna to die."

"You _dare_!" Milagre seethed. She surged forward, wrapping a strong hand around Link's neck and shoving him towards the precipice of the platform. "You are an interloper, an imposter. Nothing more than a Knight who thinks himself sharper than his sword."

"Mila! Stop! He's telling the truth," Inglis pleaded, grabbing her by the arm and trying to wrench her backwards. "I know the way he lies and he isn't now!"

Link flailed in the Yiga woman's grip, managing to kick her in the gut. She wailed, stumbling and releasing Link over the edge of the platform. The stone of Vah Ruta's luminous head rushed forward to meet him; reaching for his paraglider, Link held out a hand towards Ruta, focusing, and at the last moment, another great gale erupted through the air. The sail cloth caught the wind at the last moment, and Link careened upwards back towards the trunk platform.

He landed hard, in time to see Inglis try and fail to restrain Milagre from reaching the control terminal. Before he could stop her, she placed a hand on the terminal. Vah Ruta shuddered, shifted to the right, and unleashed a second blast of energy. The blistering beam this time reached its target, smashing into the western wing of Hyrule Castle. The explosion sent an enormous black cloud of debris and smoke high into the air, the shockwave so strong that they felt the gust of hot air from Vah Ruta herself. Recovering, Link noticed a faint red beam aimed from the rocky cliffs of Eldin and another from Gerudo.

"We need to move!" he roared, but it was too late.

Vah Rudania fired in retaliation, its beam striking Ruta's side flank. Link reached for the terminal, managing to grab Inglis by the arm, but he could not also catch Milagre. He looked up just in time to see her thrown from the trunk, her scream ringing out high and shrill. Inglis cried out, lurching forward to jump after her, but Link held him tight, and as suddenly as it had began, Milagre's screaming stopped.

* * *

A lattice of fire and energy crisscrossed overhead as the Beasts traded volleys. From the base of Central Tower, where she had stopped to let her horse catch its breath, Zelda watched the unfathomable; the Divine Beasts turned against each other, and the sky alight with power wrought into corruption.

Vah Ruta had fired first, obliterating Zelda's tower in the west wing of Hyrule Castle, and most of the Royal Apartments. Vah Rudania had fired back, and Vah Naboris threatened to do the same, with Vah Medoh alternately aimed at Naboris and Rudania in warning. Naboris then fired at Ruta, followed by Medoh at Naboris, the Beasts shrieking under the immense impacts, flame and smoke and ash raining down where each Beast was hit.

 _How?_ She wanted to ask. _How could this happen? Is Link alive? Can anything be done? Can anything be saved?_

Questions she had no time to answer. If she could not find a way to end this, no matter how impossible the feat seemed, then everything - their trials and triumphs, their pain and scars and tears and everything else they had endured - it would all be for nothing. All over again.

 _Not this time around_ , Zelda thought, and she looked down at the golden mark on her hand.

If all else fell away, she would still have the power. _And once, I used it to control Medoh, and Rudania too_. Perhaps, if by some miracle she was strong enough, she could use it to do the same once more, but with all the Beasts. _There would not be time to reach them all_. She would need some way to use the power remotely… some way to send out a signal…

Zelda looked up to the peak of the Sheikah tower in front of her. There was a terminal on its balcony, she remembered. And this tower was the most central of them all. It was wishful thinking, the definition of it. But what was a wish, if not hope? And what was hope, if not simply a decision to keep faith?

Heart full, the decision made, Zelda approached Central Tower and began to climb. Hand over hand, from foothold to foothold, as the rains made the ancient metal slick and cold, she climbed, until below her Hyrule grew small, and at last she reached the top; utterly exhausted, soaked through and shivering from the rain, but triumphant. And summoning the last of her strength, she crawled towards the terminal.

* * *

The rain had thickened into hail that battered down against the rocks. For the first time since the winter, it had begun to snow. Only this time the snow stung, bringing pinpricks of pain that somehow, _somehow_ , broke through the numbness he felt.

Inglis pushed the wet hair back from Milagre's eyes, but they did not open. He carried her from the water, struggling under her weight, where he was met by the retinue of Zora waiting by the pool, Larella, and Prince Sidon among them. They watched wide-eyed, unsure how to approach the grieving man before them. _Should we arrest him?_ One asked. _No, not yet_ , Inglis heard Larella reply. _He is in shock._

Shock. Shock that had made him foolish; made him jump. Inglis had wrangled himself free of Link, and had leapt from the trunk down into the waters after her, but Mila was already dead. She had hit Vah Ruta in her fall. Her face was scarred and broken, but her hair was lovely and long as it had always been. Inglis ran his fingers through it, thinking that it felt like silk.

Link was ushering him towards the bank, having jumped into the water after him. "Inglis, I'm sorry," he soothed. "I need to take the Sheikah Slate."

"It was Rudania," Inglis said suddenly, ignoring Link's words. He fell to his knees, his strength gone at last. "I inducted Yunobo, and he _killed_ her. You killed Ganon, didn't you Link? After he killed the Zora girl you loved? Did… Did it help?"

As he took the Sheikah Slate from Milagre's belt, Link said, "I killed him five times over, Inglis. And no, it did not help."

Behind them, the Beasts had not finished their fighting. Rudania to Naboris, Medoh to Rudania, Naboris to Ruta, yet again. _We have to move! Sidon!_ Someone shouted. _Any moment and they might hit_ us _._

Inglis did not feel Link turn towards Central Hyrule, did not see that the tower there had begun to turn gold, and did not hear Link instruct Larella and Sidon to stay and watch over him.

"Zelda is at the tower," Link told them. "That must be her. Whatever she's trying to do, I need to help her."

But Inglis did hear ethereal sounds as Link teleported away, and he hoped the others would soon depart too. He could not look from Mila's face. If he did, she might disappear. The Ambassador crouched beside him, gingerly wrapping an arm around him to help him stand.

"What do the Zora do with their dead?" he asked her.

"We send them home," Larella answered with a frown. "To the water. But she is Yiga, of the desert, so she will return to the fire. Come, strange child. When the rains stop, we will build a pyre."

* * *

The terminal was cool beneath her palm; around her, the lights of the tower had turned gold.

At first, nothing happened. Zelda wasn't sure if anything would. But she had controlled the Beasts before. Still - her plan went far beyond _control_.

Zelda focused, whispering words of prayer. _Father help me, Mother help me. Preserve me now, grant my wish. Let me save them, this last time._

Her focus was broken by the silvery sounds of materialisation behind her, and the quiet footsteps along the stone. "Zelda?" His voice brought a lance of pain through her, accompanied by a discordant joy. Fearful, she drew her hand from the terminal.

"Go," Zelda said cooly. "You should not be here."

Link joined her at the terminal and gazed upon the golden lights. "...what are you doing?"

She could not help it; there were tears in her eyes now. "Something terrible. Something I don't want you to bear witness to," Zelda admitted, placing a gentle hand on his chest to push him away. "I have to do this alone… you never chose any of this, and you don't need to-"

He drew his sword and placed it between them. From the look in his eyes, Link understood.

"I did choose. I chose to save you; chose to fight for you." With an almost predestined purpose, Link pushed to hilt towards her, urging Zelda to take it in hand. "And I choose now to be by your side."

"I have to shut them down, Link," Zelda admitted at last.

He took her hand in his, bringing it to the hilt. "I know."

" _All_ of them."

"You don't need to explain."

In the distance, another beam of energy crossed Hyrule; this one from Naboris to Medoh. And then another from Medoh in return.

Determined, Zelda, at last, took the hilt in hand, her other placed on the terminal. Together, their power combined, Link and Zelda issued the order, and for a moment, the sky was gold.

In the west, Vah Medoh's propellers went quiet.

In the south, Vah Naboris' static dissipated.

In the north, Vah Rudania's half-dozen eyes blinked shut.

And in the east, Vah Ruta's hail finally ceased.

The Beasts were asleep, with permanence this time. Not even their pilots would be able to wake them. Only the power, should Zelda deem it.

But it was not just the Beasts. She could sense it. The last little beacon of light; the ancient automaton in Kakariko, unable to escape.

"I'm sorry, Link," Zelda said quietly, running soft fingers against the back of his hand. "My powers… they've grown so great that I don't have a full grasp on them. I can sense… that I did more than I meant to…"

Link's eyes went wide, and he snapped his hands away from the Master Sword, reaching for the Sheikah Slate. _No… no, no, no,_ he was muttering, frantically tapping at the screen in vain hope.

"It will still work," she informed him, reaching down to retrieve the Sword. "The Towers and the Shrines. They are different from the Beasts somehow. You might yet reach him in time, to say goodbye."

The colour had drained from his cheeks, and his mouth bobbed open and shut, but no words came beside, _no, no, no_. Zelda handed him the sword and watched as he hurriedly teleported away, before sinking to the ground to give in to her own tears.

* * *

The Sheikah had travelled to the Graveyard, and the Yiga too. Link saw a streak of white-gold hair, belonging to a woman who was kneeling before the Guardian, and he knew then that it was too late.

He ran without thinking, chest feeling as though it might burst, nearly slipping on the mud. The air smelled of smoke and rust. Somehow, after so much, he still hoped. But the lights had already gone out, and the cores were already quiet. His Guardian slept, his five legs tucked in close, and his open eye black.

Link's vision blurred as he fell at Rhoamet's side. His throat turned was dry and hoarse from the cry that could only be his own. _Wake up now,_ he sobbed. _Wake up now, please._ Someone had an arm around his shoulder. He could hear weeping. And somewhere in the haze, was a voice inflected with a dozen other voices. His father, Zelda, Aurelia, Inglis, Cinelgen and so many others. A knowing voice, foreign and familiar, until he realised it was his own;

"He was at peace, at least," he said. "The Goddess was kind."

* * *

 **A/N: The next chapter will be the last, and will be posted with an Epilogue. I'll also be publishing an Author's note soon after the epilogue goes up as its own chapter!**


	22. Solidarity

When the clouds cleared, there was nothing to hold back the waning Spring's vibrancy. It filled Hyrule to the brim. Sun and sky were a painting in thick oil, blemishless and uninhibited. The rivers sang against their banks, and everywhere one could look, there was life. To Link, it felt like an excess of light. And with light came shadow.

The journey home had taken days, and the voice had been following him again; _you aren't enough_ , it said, _when will you learn that?_ It was as old and insistent as ever, and it felt like a screw driving its way into his skull. _You're just a Knight who thinks himself sharper than his sword!_

Link expected to be angry – at Zelda or at Cinelgen or at Hyrule itself. Yet he felt a strange weightlessness where the rage would have been. He had expected grief to hit him like a wave as it had before; to fill his lungs, to make his eyes burn and his mouth salt-stained and cracked. But grief, he now knew, was not a wave in the sea but the whole sea itself. Grief could be rough, it could be calm, it could drag him down, or it could just let him float – an aimless mote on an endless drift until something reached down to pluck him free.

And there she was, come to pull him ashore. Even amongst the blinding landscape, Zelda appeared radiant on the horizon. She was a canvas of gold, white and blue; a goddess, apparently waiting for him at the gates of what once was Castle Town. She wrapped her arms around him when they met, and let him fall into her, speaking gentle words of regret and hesitant hope; _we have each other, we will always have each other._

As they walked, he sensed the weight in her footfalls. The way she leaned into him as much as he did her. She was grieving too, he suddenly understood. Across Hyrule, the Sheikah Towers and Shrines had flickered out like stars disappearing at dawn. Her kingdom had lost some of its wonders, and it was by her hand.

When they reached the fountain at the centre of Castle Town, he stopped, sitting down on the fountain edge and pulling Zelda down to join him. With what felt like the last of his strength, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, as though she was the only precious thing he had. He felt the embrace returned, and for a long time, neither of them spoke. In the ruined town, they breathed through the pain together.

Zelda was the first to speak, mumbling the words into his shoulder. "I'm sorry," was all she could begin with. "I'm so sorry."

"I know," Link said, trying his best to sound reassuring, though his words were molasses in his mouth.

She pulled away, and he was met her lovely, strained face. Under furrowed brows, her eyes were seeking, almost interrogative.

"You know, if you want to go, you can go," she said softly. "I never officially released you from my service, but I can if you want."

Link was already shaking his head. "I chose _you_ , remember?"

"That was before–"

"And I still do. I want to honour his memory, at least, and I can't do that if I run away again."

"But…" her stern eyes had become lost. "If you're not happy…"

"I'll figure that out in time, Zel," Link shrugged, before moving to gently bring her head back to his shoulder. Running a hand through her hair, he found that she'd begun to braid it again. He threaded a finger over the soft ridges where the plaits snaked across her crown, and for a moment, he felt at peace.

"Happy," Zelda murmured to herself. "I doubt _anyone_ is happy with us right now. One of Teba's scouts returned from Gerudo this morning. She told us that Lady Riju was almost trapped within Vah Naboris. I can only imagine what happened to the others…"

"We need to talk to them," Link suggested. "Make them understand."

Zelda sighed, giving him another squeeze before unravelling herself from him. "Sometimes all we can do is talk, but it's the one thing no one ever does." She cast her eyes towards the horizon, "Well, not this Kingdom. If I am Queen, they will talk."

* * *

If the day before had been a dream, Larella could not know.

One moment she had been standing with Sidon at Ruta's Plateau, checking on the state of his Divine Beast. The next, near half a dozen bandits stormed towards them with speed and force. The Prince threw himself into the fray, managing to hold off the attackers long enough to turn with flaming, frantic eyes and shout, _run!_ And Larella had run, but when she returned, Sidon was gone, and Ruta was filling the air with ice.

What followed was an assault, culminating in a Battle of the Beasts, as if a second Calamity had come. And then, a miracle and an apocalypse both, the sun had become the sky, and, Larella felt what she knew was the power of the gods. Sidon didn't even need to look at Ruta to know; once the light receded, as did the power of his own Divine Beast.

Now, the entire kingdom was held in suspension, stagnated with shock. Even the Akkalan Inglis remained. He had been one of the attackers, but Link assured her he was trustworthy. And the way Inglis wept for that woman that they had given to the pyre - it had stolen the breath from Larella's lungs just looking at him. So much death and loss on all sides; how could she condemn a child for his grief?

Together with the rest of the Domain, she watched and waited for news from the Castle, but in the meantime, she returned to her mission - sitting Sidon in his rightful place as King of Zora's Domain. For weeks now, their mornings began with research, breakfast taken with books in hand; poring over records and regulations, unravelling the knot that was the Zora monarchy.

Larella had tried to argue that with the end of the siege, the war was over, and Sidon should take the crown. No such luck; Muzu refused to declare the fighting done. She had demanded to see written proof of his ascension, but Muzu claimed not to need it. _The Council knows what it wants,_ he said. _And that is safety from these Gerudo_.

However, the petty squabble they had with the Gerudo was nothing against the death of their Divine Beast. Larella would be unfit to call herself a diplomat if she did not take an opportunity when it arose, no matter how tragic.

Once the initial panic had subsided, she managed to secure an audience with the court, and now stood at Sidon's side in the throne room of Zora's Domain. The Regent Muzu glared down at them from his marble and azure throne.

"Tell us true then," he commanded. "The Beast is asleep?"

Larella braced for Sidon's reply. He was a pariah in isolation; a man in crimson scales bringing crimson news.

"Not just asleep, Muzu," Sidon corrected, a mighty fist balled across his chest. "Vah Ruta is dead."

The announcement was met with an uproar. The courtiers called for retribution; high wails echoed through the audience chamber, ringing clearer than steel against steel.

"Noble people of the Domain!" Larella called out, raising her hands in a vain attempt to calm them. "There is no gain in unchecked rage! We must remain-"

But her voice was drowned out in the furore until Muzu gestured to the pair of warriors that flanked the throne. They drummed their silver spears against the floor and shouted, " _Enough!_ "

As soon as the shouting was quelled, Larella nudged Sidon to speak. The Prince cleared his throat, and spoke the words they had prepared together; "We need to put aside our differences with the other races. A tragedy has occurred, more fighting would only harm us!"

The Regent sniffed at them. "By my count, Vah Ruta was hit five times, on all sides!" he crowed. "You want me to make peace? _Now?_ "

"Not you, Regent," Larella pointed towards Sidon. "The only person who can make peace is our _rightful King_!"

The chamber erupted once more, and above the noise came Muzu's shrill cries of, "You _dare_!"

Ignoring the chaos, the Prince stepped forward, taking a deep breath as Larella had taught him, and he spoke so loud and clear that she could feel the floors thrum.

"You must step aside, Regent!" he announced, gesturing powerfully around the room, his scales shining. "Our people are tired of fighting! Is war all you can give us?"

"Of course not!" Muzu spat.

"Then what else have you given us? A failed siege? Crippled trade? Over a spat?" he slammed a fist into his palm, the sound cracking the air. "Well, I say _enough_!"

The sea of faces before them began to shift, the expressions of the court turning from indignation to reverence to awe. _This is the King they want_ , Larella thought. _If only I could prove it to them._

"Enough?" Muzu cried. He slapped a fin against an arm of his throne, "It is enough when I saw it is enough!" His round eyes were furious, narrow slits, and Larella could see the scales on his face begin to tinge with red. They had him on the defensive; time to move once more.

"When will you give us proof of the Council's decision?" Larella demanded. "Every previous King has-"

Muzu was prepared for the question. "There is no law that I must do so. We held a vote, and I was named Regent," he stood slowly from the chair, looking down his nose at the young Zora before him. "While you complain, I am keeping the peace. For your own good, children, you will challenge me no further."

There was nothing more to be done, but Larella had seen the eyes of the court. They were afraid of what had occurred between the Beasts. And fear was powerful, so much so that it could be a force for good.

Evening found her in the records hall again, searching through the ponderous tomes. Inglis and Sidon arrived to assist her, bringing a pot of soup and a plate of salt-seared fish for their supper.

"You should go home, Inglis," she told the Hylian. "Go where you can grieve-"

"I don't have a home yet," Inglis shrugged. And I want to stay, help where I can."

Larella had tactfully sidestepped the Court's questions as to who Inglis was. She called him a friend of Link's, and the Ambassador to Zelda's Hylians and they seemed happy enough with that.

"There is no burden-" she began, but the Akkalan shook his head and plonked the bowl of soup down onto the table.

"I broke Link's trust, and I never want to do that again."

"He has that effect on people. They both do." Sidon grinned, busying himself by clearing the table of books and setting out the plates. "You know what occurred here, don't you Inglis? And in the desert?"

Inglis had not, and so Sidon recounted the tales over supper of Link and Zelda's adventures and exploits in the Domain and beyond; the way they had cleansed Vah Medoh, and raced into the desert to prevent an altercation between the Zora and Gerudo.

Larella had only been half listening, her eyes skimming a legal record, trying to extract something of use - until she saw it. Tucked away in a miscellany act, with amendments some four hundred years old, it read;

 _A previously informal bureaucratic act or process may be considered law with immediate effect if it can be shown the practice has occurred for no less than two hundred years._

The footnotes told that this prevented new kings from subverting tradition.

"This is it!" Larella cried, nearly exploding from her chair. She rummaged through her documents left on a nearby desk and found the record of Councillors and Kings for the past three hundred years. Whenever a Council elected a King, the vote was made official by a signed document. It was the proof they needed - at last!

She did not bother seeking an audience the next morning. When the court met as they did by routine, she stormed into the chamber with both the documents and Sidon in tow.

"There is a precedent, Muzu!" she said, interrupting the proceedings. "Three hundred years of it!"

Larella marched up to the throne and held the miscellany act to his face, before taking it around the room.

"If you have no record, you cannot be King," Sidon explained coolly, lips upturned in a satisfied smile. "It is law."

The Regent could not speak; he sat on the marble throne he had usurped with open mouth and watery eyes. With a hopeful smile and tightly-balled fists, Sidon turned then to the court and said, "I am ready to ascend, and I ask the Councillors to consider me favourably!"

Through the murmurs that followed, Muzu's booming voice cut across the chamber. "No - councillors, organise to sign this document immediately if that is what is required! I have the majority!"

Larella could not hide her smile then, for no one in the court moved an inch. Their refusal was clear.

"I will not, Muzu," announced one of the Councillors - a portly old man with a crisp accent and rings that clasped tight to his swollen fingers. "Your actions have jeopardised trade across the entire Kingdom. I will support the Prince as my king!"

The Regent looked like an animal in a snare. He nervously eyed the rest of the court, seeming to shrink into the throne as more and more agreed with the portly Councillor.

"Why deny the young man?" said one Councillor.

"The Ambassador's proof is sound, Muzu," said another.

The court cried out, calling for Sidon's ascension. It did not take long; Muzu's own guards muscled him from the throne and made him stumble down towards the dais.

He glared at Larella. " _You_. I remember when you were an attendant. I could have you beaten, and beheaded for what you have done!"

Larella had never felt taller, or indeed stronger than she did at that moment. She crouched down to meet Muzu's eye level, and sneered,

"Men like you don't scare me, Muzu. I've known worse threats, _real_ threats. I have the scars to prove it. So threaten me again, an innocent woman and friend of your fallen king - and see how far that gets you."

By late evening, the celebrations that followed were finally beginning to wind down. Even with the threat of war still present, the Zora could not resist a feast. Muzu was not condemned to a cell but was rather stripped of his status as a noble. His punishment, Sidon deemed, was to see the Domain thrive in the absence of his input.

Larella and Sidon watched the last of the feast from a gazebo above the plaza, standing arm in arm and enjoying a moment of quiet.

"I don't deserve what I've been given," Sidon sighed. "If anyone should rule, it is you. This was all _your_ doing, after all."

"We can't all be Kings and Queens, Sidon," Larella said. "Some of us are happy just to help."

Their peace was broken then by the sounds of hurried, splashing footsteps, as Inglis raced along the path with a letter in hand, delivered just then by a courier with great urgency. It was addressed to the ruler of Zora's Domain.

Larella tried to read Sidon's expression as he opened the letter, but she could not parse it. For once, his hooded yellow eyes revealed little.

"Zelda has called a summit of the leaders of Hyrule," he finally told them, handing the letter to Larella. "She doesn't know what has happened here."

Larella read the neat handwriting; _Whoever this letter reaches, I invite the ruler of Zora's Domain to come to Hyrule Castle..._

Larella grinned, clutching the letter tight. "Then let's bring her the good news."

* * *

For a moment, Zelda thought she saw snow. Twin flecks on the horizon, followed by a third, until she realised exactly what, and who, it was soaring in from the west. Teba, and his family; the sight gave her a rush of glee stronger than anything she had felt in days. She had been standing in what once was her bedroom - now a haunt of rubble and dust - where the breach in Hyrule Castle opened out to the west. In moments of uncertainty, Zelda could come here to gaze upon the Hebra Mountains. It was there that she had found her strength. There must be at least some left for it to give.

The Rito had come without even been summoned. While Zelda had told no one that _she_ was the cause of the Beast's death, Teba had surmised it immediately. But he had not come to scold her.

"You will get enough complaints from the others," he warned once pleasantries had been exchanged. "I just wanted to know you're okay, Sparrow."

 _Okay_. Perhaps Zelda was okay. Her life was no longer in peril. Ganon showed no signs of returning; a rogue Gerudo no longer wandered her country, setting fire to her people's homes; and despite what she had taken from him, Link had remained at her side. Yes, Zelda was the very definition of _okay_.

"A Queen does not get to choose how she feels," Zelda told him.

He knelt down before her so that their eyes met, and he placed a wide wing on her shoulder. "A Queen may not be able to choose, but Zelda can. And you're not a Queen yet, Sparrow. Don't forget that."

 _I am Queen in this Castle, at least_. She put the concerns out of her mind and refocused on the enormous task of repairing what remained of Hyrule Castle. By day, Link and Zelda surveyed the damage with the help of the meagre number of Hylian constituents who had taken residence in the Castle. By night, they all supped in Dining Hall. The men and women loyal to her now were either Goron brawlers belonging to Yunobo, Rito spies in Teba's network of scouts, or former bandits of Cinelgen's. In a twist of irony, his outcasts had become Zelda's outcasts; it was only fair that she learn their names, and their stories. _As a bard would_ , she could not help but think.

Those she had invited arrived over the next coming week - Elder Kaneli and the bard Kass came first, having received the letter less than a day after Teba's departure. Then came Yunobo and Bludo, the latter of which complained at having to travel so far with such a bad back. A train of wagons was next, carrying Leop of Hateno and Impa of Kakariko, accompanied by Paya. Buliara and Riju arrived, both hooded and refusing to speak to anyone until they laid eyes on Zelda and Link.

Riju was too anxious to begin with pleasantries. "I got your letter," she said apologetically. "I won't ever forget what it said."

"You don't need to apologise to me," Zelda said, and the little Chief nodded slowly.

"I know," she whispered, before being ushered away to Buliara.

Aurelia and her Yiga soon arrived too, ferrying the body of Cinelgen to give to the Gerudo. She scowled at the Castle when she passed through its gates, calling the place _cursed_. When Zelda asked what she meant, the Yiga woman pointed to her leather eye-patch and said,

"It takes more than it gives. I hope you have a lot of muster, little Queen," she laughed at Zelda's stunned expression, pulling a banana from her pouch to munch on as she settled her horse.

The last to arrive brought the biggest surprise; Larella announcing that they were in the presence of _King_ Sidon, along with the Hylian Inglis. By Link's account, Zelda had expected him to be near catatonic, having lost his mentor and lover in one day. But Inglis carried in his spirit a low burning flame of hope, and Zelda saw it grow when he was reunited with Link and Aurelia.

Sidon's arrival heralded that the talks could begin. And so, on a warm morning in the late-Spring, she called them all to the throne room. While she had been away, racing across the land to find Cinelgen, her followers had replaced the planks across the hole in the throne room floor and had cleaned the place of the debris, and the blood left over from the Castle's takeback. The banners were still rotting, and the high windows of the hall were still mostly broken, but at least the room did not look like a battlefield.

She waited for the attendees beneath the balcony, wanting to meet them eye to eye rather than from her throne. Thankfully, despite the season, the air in the throne room was cool; Zelda had deigned to wear her Rito Coat, even if it was more suited to winter. She had found an old, golden necklace bearing the royal bird of Hyrule, and she wore it now as the only symbol of her status. _Rito Princess_ , Cinelgen had once called her. It did not matter. The coat made her feel strong, as though it were armour of steel and not wool.

One by one their guests entered the room, forming a motley line before her. Those who had not been to the castle were hesitant to step onto the wooden planks, and if Zelda were honest with herself, she would be too. _All that stands between us and a hundred foot drop are a few rows of rotting wood._

But still she took a step forward, hearing her own boots click against the planks, and she began,

"I know the question you have asked, and I know I have withheld the answer from you. But it was only fair that you hear it together," She took another step forward; Link remained at her side, never more than a foot away. "I am not condemning anyone pilot or people, and it was not the Zora who destroyed part of this Castle, but an interloper and a bandit who wrenched control of the Beast with the intent to stir conflict."

Riju pushed through to the front of the crowd, the bells and jewels of her formal Gerudo attire jingling audibly when she moved. "Cinelgen?" she pressed. "Your letter said he was dead."

Zelda nodded, and passing her eyes to Inglis, who was standing with Aurelia and the Yiga, she said, "... it was an associate. But Cinelgen and his bandits are no more."

"So what _happened_?" pressed Elder Kaneli of the Rito, an air of curiosity rather than indignation in his voice.

It hurt to speak. The pain of regret was still strong, and already Zelda could feel the support of her allies waning. Yet Link's quiet strength at her side was the pillar in which she found her own. Adjusting her Rito coat, she began to explain,

"We as a Kingdom are responsible. Our bickering and infighting, our misjudgments, and hesitation. When we turned on each other I… had no choice. I _made_ a choice," She held up her right hand and showed the crowd the golden crest. "Your Champions will have already guessed. The Divine Beasts are dead," she caught sight of Impa and Paya at the edge of the crowd, watching with agelessly solemn faces. "As are the Towers, and the Shrines."

"Wait - you _killed_ our Divine Beast!" Kaneli cried. He pointed a wing towards the Rito Warrior, who started backwards, but could not protest before the Elder said, "But Teba was defending your Castle, and you-"

"How long have you been able to do this?" Riju suddenly demanded, scowling at Zelda's golden mark. "Why give us our Beasts only to take them away?"

Even Sidon looked conflicted. Crossing his arms over his chest, he said with a frown, "I have to agree - will you even return them to us?"

"I don't know," Zelda could feel herself shrinking from them, wishing now she had sat in her throne after all.

"When it is safe," Link said, shooting her a concerned look. "Then and not before."

He sidled in close so that their shoulders kissed. An invisible encouragement, _I am here_.

"Well, we were content to never wake ours," bemoaned Bludo. "I don't know why you gave it to Yunobo, to be honest!"

"H-hey I was just… I'm sorry!" The young Goron looked shocked just to hear his own name. "I wanted to protect the Castle, honest, and-"

"You should have left the Beasts as they were!" Bludo argued, and Zelda saw Riju and Kaneli nod in agreement. "You should never have interfered! We were just _fine_ before-"

"Enough!" A shout thundered across the throne room from the back wall, and the crowd shifted towards its source; Inglis of Akkala, his face stern and determined, marching across the planks to stand by Zelda's side. "Listen to yourselves!" he scolded them. "You have nothing but complaints. Link and Zelda made a choice that saved you all, and still you bicker!

The crowd before him were stunned and open-mouth - though at the back of the room, Zelda saw Aurelia smiling. Inglis went on, "I've heard their story. Many of you know parts of it. All the ways they helped you, without asking for anything in return," He looked back to Link with a wry smile. "And I know it's easy to lie. But I believe their story, and I know they're the only thing holding this place together."

No one spoke, until Teba stepped forward.

"I believe as well," he said. With a scowl, he turned back towards the other Champions. "You lived your whole lives without those Beasts. They don't bring in food, they don't keep your families warm. We're alive because they died, simple as that." He pointed towards Link and Zelda. "I stand by their decision."

"As do I!" Sidon surged forward to meet Teba on the planks. "I'm sad to lose Ruta, but at least I know she cannot be a danger."

A large hand shot up from amongst the Gorons. "You-you know what! Me too!" Yunobo suddenly piped up. "It was fun while it lasted. But Rudania brought us more trouble than good. He's gone now, Bludo, isn't he? That's what you wanted."

The little Chief was the last to walk forward. She gave them a conceding, yet assured look. "Maybe I don't agree, but I understand. What other way was there to end it?"

"I would do more than agree," Inglis address the crowd, and before Zelda could speak, he went to his knees. "If for no other reason than they are our best hope for something _better_ than 'just fine'." The look in his eyes was an apology; was he bowing or begging? Zelda barely had enough time to decide, for Inglis was not done.

"I would support them as the rulers of Hyrule," Inglis peered over his shoulder towards the Yiga woman at the back wall. "I know I am not alone."

Aurelia was the first to join him, as she had pledged to do. Soon, Teba followed, and then Sidon, and Larella, as with Zelda's own constituents, and the Sheikah too. Leop was next, as were Riju and Buliara until finally, Kaneli and even Bludo were on their knees.

Zelda sensed Link shift, and lower, but she seised his arm. "No, don't," she whispered with disbelief. "They're not bowing to me. They're bowing to _us_."

"Us," Link breathed. "But I'm not-"

She gave his hand a squeeze. "Afraid, are you?"

Link shook his head, a smile broadening on his face. "Never," he assured her. "Never, if I'm with you."

Her voice booming through the hall, Zelda addressed the people before her.

"Stand then, if this is your wish," she bid them - the once disparate denizens of a Kingdom lost, now hers and Link's in earnest - and when they stood, they stood as one.

* * *

There was to be no coronation. Zelda found her father's account of his own coronation in his journal. Rhoam had little to say about the event: _superfluous_ was all he called it, _but necessary_. But with no court priest or officiator to conduct the proceedings, Zelda determined that _necessary_ was a subjective term. Hyrule did not need that she wear a crown; Hyrule needed to be rebuilt.

The summit lasted another week. As King, Sidon officially announced the retreat of the Zora from the conflict, and with Chief Riju, ended the war between the East and the South. Zelda pardoned Elder Kaneli and the Rito for their involvement with Cinelgen, and Bludo announced that he had forgiven the Kingdom as a whole for 'this whole mess you lot made!'

Even Leop of Hateno Village congratulated Zelda on the success of the summit.

"I see now that I was wrong to assume you _required_ Hateno to assist you," he apologised. "I will speak favourably of you to my people, and do not fret. Your Kingdom will grow."

Impa sought Link and Zelda out privately, grandiose speeches not being of her character. "Your father would be proud this day, Zelda," the elder informed her, adding mournfully. "Despite what we have lost."

Indeed all had lost something in the years since the Calamity. So in veneration, she took the four races of Hyrule to the Sacred Grounds and lit a pair of blue and white lanterns in memory for their fallen Champions, and any others they had lost. She held her own white lantern close in hand; it was her Father and Mother, her baby brother, and Lexo the Bard as well. And Link's blue lantern was his family and his friends, his Guardian, and the memories he would never recover. And at last, they all hung their lanterns in a tree together; an array of stars added to an already full sky.

And soon the horses were saddled once again, and the wagons were readied for the summiteers to depart. _United_ was a concept; the people of Hyrule still had homes at the corners of the world. _United_ , in truth, would take time. Even Aurelia, whose people had no home, could not be convinced to stay. They would find their own place, in time, and assist Zelda by living well and creating no chaos as so many of their forebears had.

Of those ready to depart, Zelda sought Teba and Larella. She met them at the Gates as around them the Castle was abuzz with activity, the sound of chatter and neighing and adventure floating through the air.

"There is work here if you want it," Zelda told them, not wanting to waste time tip-toeing around the subject. "Plainly, I am asking you to remain, and assist me in rebuilding my home."

Larella's refusal was immediate, and earnest - which made it all the worse. She took Zelda's hands in her own long, jewelled fingers and said, "I know I made a promise, but we must secure the Domain. Sidon needs me as well. Perhaps… in time."

"Time. I understand," Zelda nodded, biting her lip to keep from frowning. She mustered a smile. "Hurry home then, Larella. You help us by helping your King."

"Of course," The Ambassador said with a curtsey, before excusing herself to continue preparing her horse for the journey home.

"Well, I can't say I'm any less doubtful," Teba admitted once she had gone. "You know me. Not a fan of change."

"I do know you," Zelda smiled. She placed a hand on her chest and focused her power. Soon an orb of light was collecting in her hand, whiter and brighter than snow. "Link thought it would make more sense if _I_ passed this onto you. It belonged to an old friend, you see, and now, it belongs to a new one."

Apprehensively, Teba gingerly took the ball of light into his own wingtips. "What is this?"

"A power belonging to the Champions of old. Riju and Sidon already have theirs. We passed Yunobo's onto Bludo since Yunobo technically already carries that power…" her voice trailed off, until Teba somewhat daringly pressed the light into his chest. "It's a gale, Teba. _Revali's Gale_."

At that moment, a column of air sprung up around the warrior. He opened his wings, letting the updraft ruffled his feathers. "Thank you, Zelda," he smiled once the gale had dissipated. "This gift is an honour."

"Ah - It's not just a gift. It's a trade."

Teba raised his brows, and Zelda allowed herself a single moment of weakness to plead,

" _Stay_ , Teba. I need people here," she urged him, the words and their sincerity coming out in a rush.

The warrior was caught off guard by her sincerity. He shook his head, "You don't need me as an advisor. I'm old and too-"

"Blunt? Good!" Zelda said. "I don't want an advisor. I want a friend. Someone to keep me sane, and make sure I'm not doing anything stupid."

Teba chuckled at that, "It'd be blind leading the blind there."

"I'm serious," she chided him. "Before what happened with the Beasts, you could have remained home with Medoh. But now…" Zelda wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing the wool of her Rito coat. "He doesn't need you anymore. But I do."

She saw his guarded expression falter, but it did not break. "And what of Link? Isn't he a _friend_?"

"Link is...I love him, I do," Zelda admitted. She took a moment to see if she could spot her partner amongst the crowd. _Likely he is elsewhere, at his own work._

"But…" Teba said slowly.

"But we both know what love does to fair judgement," Zelda finished, casting Teba a sly smile.

The pair exchanged a weighty look, understanding clear between them. The warrior shrugged, conceding. "We sure do," he sighed. After a moment's contemplation, as the bustle of the Castle flower around them, he said, "My family will stay with me."

"Naturally," Zelda agreed. "Saki was once an advisor to Kaneli, wasn't she? She could be in my employ here then. And Tulin can learn to shoot or sew, or anything he wants."

The warrior copied her in taking in their surroundings; the decayed castle, the empty town beyond the gates, the people now under Zelda's rule.

"I get an official title?" he asked.

"I'd name you Battlemaster if I had any fighters."

"Everyone is a fighter when it comes to it," Teba told. " _Battlemaster_ will do just fine."

* * *

In the last of his journal entries, King Rhoam had begun to address his writings to his daughter. Perhaps he knew that a wedge had been driven between them and wanted in some way to reach her, or perhaps he was merely collating the knowledge he knew he needed to pass on. Zelda read every single letter and knew that even in death, he was never far from her. Her forgiveness was without question now, despite everything. It was the only way she could find a place for Rhoam in her heart.

 _A Kingdom is a forest, Zelda_ , her father had written. _It grows slowly and is never truly complete_.

Where it had once been scattered, Hyrule began to grow into a whole; a place with wide roads and new villages and cautious but enthusiastic residents. All could be rebuilt. All of it could be what it had been, _more_ than what it had been. The Hyruleans were a people with a century of wandering to their name, and they called for a home. They called for a place to stand still, to leave a mark, to become something more than a face on the road. Link and Zelda dedicated themselves to in all waking hours to forging that place.

North to south, east to west; Letters soared across the Kingdom as Kaneli set his Rito to expanding the courier network. At any one moment, their vibrant feathers could be spotted on the horizon. Zora's Domain was soon reopened; regular correspondence from Larella told of Sidon's fledgeling but spirited reign, and also invited them to save the date for the new year's Champion's Day, which was now only a few months away. Letters from Chief Riju had too reached the Castle; construction had already begun on a new bridge. _We are considering naming it after Naboris_ , she had written.

With the conflict ended, trade recommenced across Hyrule, much to the relief of Dr Purah in particular, who had written to Zelda to personally thank her. _Short of starting my own quarry, I was running out a ways to acquire the rare gems I need_ _for_ _my research_ , her letter said. _You ought to stop by and see it for yourself._

Word from Goron City reached Link and Zelda as well; they were doing well as usual and had nothing special to report. _But this is the way the boss likes it,_ Yunobo had added. _So don't worry about us!_

Even Aurelia took the time to write. It was a short note; _Settled near Tarrey Town for now. Been raining for nearly a week. Tell the Akkalan his home is even drearier than he is._

Closer to home, work soon began on the plans for the new Castle Town, with Hudson of Tarrey Town himself making the journey to Hyrule Castle to assess the work needed.

"Supplies!" he'd exclaimed. "You're going to need half a Kingdom's worth of supplies! Hope you've got a good axe!"

Link and Zelda could barely catch their breath. They left Teba and Inglis in charge of the Castle as they travelled to search for the last remaining signs of Malice. With each Ritual, Zelda continued to look for the memory that the hooded woman had spoken of. _Your Knight struggles with himself,_ she had said. _There is something he must see._

Wielding the power of the Other Place was difficult at first; there was so _much_ time that finding anything to focus on was a feat in of itself. She started with pieces that she could remember; her own childhood, and then her time with Link before the Calamity, searching further and further, exploring memories that belonged to family, and then friends, and then strangers.

"Link spoke of his Father," Zelda explained to the hooded woman. "I'm sure that one of _his_ memories is the key. But I don't even know what he looks like…"

"That is a requirement, unfortunately," the hooded woman said. "This is an archive, true, but like any library, one must know where to look."

The answer came in a stopover in Hateno Village. Zelda wanted to discuss with Leop the possibility of building a mountain pass so that Necluda could be more easily accessed from Lanayru. Link, on the other hand, had the fantastical idea of building a tunnel rather than a pass, excavating the rocks with nothing other than the still functional Sheikah Slate and its remote bombs. Leop was hesitant but agreed so long as he wouldn't have to be in the tunnels himself.

The trip offered them a week in the quiet town, and while they were there, Link decided to clean out his Hateno Home for the first time since he'd purchased it. Zelda was helping him empty out one of the sheds behind the house, listening to him prattle on about what type of bombs to use for the tunnel, and whether the Gorons could be convinced to aid the construction when suddenly he fell silent.

His hands were clutched around a small portrait, no bigger than his palm. It was faded, the wood nearly rotted away, but the picture had been preserved by the glass, and when Zelda looked, she saw a young Hylian couple with a baby boy; his hair an ashen blonde, and his eyes bright blue.

"Father..." Link whispered. "Mother…"

He pressed the portrait to his chest, rocking gently back and forth. "I don't even know your names," he muttered. "I'm so sorry…"

Zelda wrapped herself around him, holding him tight - what little her affection could do - until finally he allowed himself to be held, and collapsed into her embrace.

"Did they suffer?" he wondered, breathing long and low. "Were they even alive at all when it happened?"

"Whoever they were, I am certain they would be proud of you," Zelda assured him, rubbing circles into his back.

"Would they?" Link challenged, pulling himself free. He looked down at the portrait as though it were an affront. "All I can remember of my father is how disappointed he was in me, and I can't remember _anything_ about my mother. I'm not even an orphan, Zelda. I'm _no one_."

"You are _not_ no one," Zelda said firmly. Link slumped forward, dejected, gripping the portrait so tight Zelda though he might break it. She brought him close to her once more, gently taking the picture from his hands and setting it aside.

"It wasn't fair," she soothed. "You were never allowed to grieve."

"How can I grieve a stranger?"

At first, she had no answer; Link's loss was two-fold to hers - he'd lost his loved ones and their memory. But she recalled the cycle of being that the hooded woman had shown her - the eternal fate she and Link were bound to, and the lives they would live once this life was done.

"The way you would grieve a loved one," she eventually answered. "With sincerity, and the knowledge that with every loss comes a triumph."

Zelda looked down at the face of Link's father, rendered crisp and clean despite the age of the portrait, certain now of how to help him.

* * *

Their path across Hyrule would have made a fine lattice; on horse, on foot, Link and Zelda travelled as far north as the Thyphlo Ruins and as far and south as Lurelin Village itself. The residents of the little fishing village were blissfully - and somewhat thankfully - unaware of the developments to the north.

"King and Queen, are you?" Elder Rozel had said when Link casually mentioned taking residence in Hyrule Castle. He was a small man, with an air constant ease. "Well, good luck to you! We'll be here if you need anything."

No matter how far they travelled, Zelda decreed that they return to the Castle as often as possible. Each time they did, Link was glad to find some small progress was made. After the first month of Summer, the debris had been cleared from the Castle. After the second, a great, circular stone slab had been cut and carried from a quarry in Lanayru, and now the floor of the throne room was repaired. And by the end of Summer, plans for the new Castle Town were made, and in addition, it seemed that at last, all of the Malice that remained in Hyrule had been destroyed. Link had lost count of the number of Cleansing Rituals he and Zelda had performed. They had begun to lose their wonder too - becoming as mundane as saddling his horse or setting a fire.

Once they had determined that their work with the Malice was complete, Link decided upon a final place to take the Master Sword and turned his horse north. Zelda did not question the choice, only asked why now.

 _Why now?_ Link would draw the Sword, take a whetstone to its blue-tinged blade, and was for a moment unsure. The Sword had been his for over one hundred years. Its soul was his soul; its song his song. But the song was sadder now, and the courage it once brought was bittersweet. Hyrule could rebuild, become greater than it once had been. But it would not be _their_ Hyrule, that they had lost in the Calamity. The Sword was part of that Kingdom too, Link felt.

Once the air of the Lost Woods cleared and the mangled trees with trunks of screaming faces gave way to solid evergreens entwined with snaking vines, the Korok Forest opened out before them. The flowers in the forest meadow were in full bloom, soft music emanating from the little village. Shielded from the sun, the air between the trees was cool - a welcome respite from the summer heat. Link could not help but grin when he saw the wide-eyed masks of the Koroks who watched them as they approached, and heard their hushed whispers. _Swordsman. Princess_. _Here again._

The Deku Tree seemed to smile when he saw them, the deep lines of his carved face shifting with reverent delight.

"Ah, well now. It is not characteristic of a tree to feel impatience," he said. Link felt the depth of the tree's voice in his chest. "But I was anxious to see you _both_ before me, I admit."

At his side, Zelda was beaming up at the ancient tree. "I am glad to have kept my promise," she laughed. "And especially glad to see that all is well here."

"The Koroks have whispered of the conflict, and its end," the tree mused. His weathered face grew even more solemn if that was possible. "Hyrule can now heal, after so long. But if I may ask, what has brought you before me?"

With unsteady hands, Link began to unbuckle the Master's Sword from his chest. "We have come to return the Sword," he said, fighting through his doubt.

"But this Sword is a part of you, is it not?" the Deku Tree asked, unhelpfully.

Link clutched the blue and gold scabbard tight in his hands, feeling as though they had turned to stone. He had been so sure, but now that the moment had come...

"Ganon is gone, and Cinelgen is dead," Zelda answered for him. "The Sword was an honour, not a gift."

Link took a steadying breath; the decision had been made, even if parting with the Sword left a hollow in his chest.

"I am the Sword's Master, but it is not my slave," he told the tree, preparing to remove the Sword from its scabbard.

"An admirable observation," the Deku Tree agreed. "Proceed then. The Koroks and I will watch over the Master Sword for when its time comes again. And we will forever be here, should you need respite."

"Forever?" Link questioned. He looked down at the Sword. "Nothing is _forever_."

"Ah, perhaps not," the tree chuckled. "But wisdom and memory make mortal lives eternal. I will remain, as will your friends and lost loved ones, so long as we are not forgotten. The Beasts must sleep for now, but perhaps not _forever_."

It was not a question Link had dared to broach with Zelda. _Will you ever wake them up - and my beast with them?_ When she had not protested the plan to return the Sword, he thought that meant she never would.

Zelda placed a hand on the scabbard. "Perhaps, in time, we will wake them. When Hyrule is truly whole. I do not consider them lost just yet."

Link looked back at the Sword; he thought about all the days he had carried it, all the things he remembered and all of the things he could not. The Sword had seen them all, and so maybe nothing was ever really gone.

With deftness and purpose, Link drew the Sword from its hilt. He offered it to Zelda to take in hand with him, and together, they held it over the pedestal, and slowly lowered it into its rest.

"Thank you," Link whispered before letting go. Already a part of him felt as though it were fading; a chant or a song or a familiar warmth, he wasn't sure, but something had left him then. His hands felt cold.

Zelda had yet not released the Sword. She kept her right hand wrapped tight around the diamond-patterned held, and held out her left for him. "Before we go, Link, I have something I need to show you."

There was an other-worldly purpose in her voice. The golden crest on her hand was shining brightly, so bright that he could see its light reflected in her eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked slowly.

She extended her hand forward, willing him to take it. "You will see."

Were it anyone else, he might have hesitated. But it was Zelda before him, and so without fear, Link placed his hand in hers, and with the suddenness of blinking, he was someplace _else_.

* * *

At first, it had no form. The light was everywhere here. Soon, he could make out shapes and colours. _Where was I? What was I?_ He let himself be momentarily overwhelmed until framed by an orange-gold backdrop he saw Zelda standing before him, her figure fading into clarity. He stood on a stone platform and taking in his surroundings, he saw a glass pedestal before them, and an endless dusk sky.

"Where are we?" he said, startled by the crispness of his own voice. Zelda had her hand in his and gave him a reassuring squeeze. She was holding the Master Sword.

"Somewhere once sacred," she explained. "Someplace outside of time."

"What does that mean?"

"All moments exist here as one, passing through like clouds," she gestured to the shining sky, and the long wisps of clouds lofting high above. "I've been coming here since my powers awoke. Unknowingly. The Sword is the key, as is the song. And as my powers grew, finding this place became easier, and now I have been able to bring you with me," she let go of his hand and took a step towards the pedestal.

"You said… you needed to show me something?" Link said as he followed her, his memory returning. They had been in the forest, but it felt impossibly far away now.

With a nod, Zelda placed her right hand on the pedestal, "Link - forget nothing of what you see, and do not be afraid. Although," she added with a giggle. "Knowing you…"

In a flash, Zelda, the pedestal, and everything around Link fell away, replaced then by... the study of Battlemaster Otra's, in Hyrule Garrison. It was unmistakable - Link recognised the sparse furniture and strong smell of leather oil instantly - but it was also _impossible_.

Still, Otra of Old Lurelin sat at his desk in his study beside a tall window that overlooked the training yard below. Link heard the clanging of steel and shouting voices. It seemed so real. _Is this another memory_?

The Battlemaster was attending to some paperwork, hurriedly scrawling out a report. Standing before him, dressed in the full regalia, with silvery blonde hair pulled loosely into a low ponytail, was a Hylian Knight.

Link could not stop himself. "Father!" he called out, rushing forward, but the Knight did not turn. Neither man seemed to hear. Across the room, Link caught sight of Zelda standing against the far wall, the Master Sword still in hand, and he knew. _This is a vision_.

"How could you do this, Otra?" His father demanded. Link could not move; in the portrait, his father seemed otherworldly, mythic. But here he was real, just a man, with blue eyes like his. They were almost the same height, though Link was not quite as tall as his father.

The Battlemaster had stopped writing.

Micah," he began, and Link's breath caught in his throat as he heard his father's name. "There's nothing you can do. Link has already departed north for the Forest."

His father was incensed. "You know what they will do, don't you? If he returns, they will make him their Champion!"

Otra stood from his chair, clearly agitated, though his voice was strangely calm. "Doesn't that make you proud, then? Your own son, receiving an honour only found in legend."

"Aye, and be bound to that Princess for the rest of his life," his father countered "What little he may have left!"

Otra scoffed, leaning his hands onto his desk. "Calamity Ganon's return is a _rumour_ ," he punctuated the word by slapping his hands against his paperwork. "Nothing more. I've said that enough to bloody Rhoam, let alone you!"

Micah squared up to him, pointing an accusing finger. "You are not a fool, Otra. We have cursed ourselves by resurrecting those Beasts and those automatons. It may not be _Ganon_ that destroys Hyrule, but if they name my son Champion, he will be first to fight whatever tries to!"

"Have you no faith in his ability?" Otra almost laughed. "I trained him myself - if I am no fool, then Link cannot be one either."

The old knight had nothing to say then. Micah brought a gloved hand to his face, rubbing his wrinkle-lined eyes, and sighed, leaning against Otra's desk, "I just… I wanted something different for my son. Ever since Rowan…"

Rowan _. That was her name_ , Link thought, remembering his mother. She was there all at once; a plain and pragmatic woman, with long blonde hair and freckled skin. She wore the elegant clothes expected of a Knight's wife, though her hands were bare of jewels, and her face hardened from years of scowling. She was a teacher too, Link recalled, in Hateno. They had lived in a cottage together on the far side of the river until Link was old enough to begin his training as a Knight. _Micah and Rowan_ , Link mouthed the names, but they did not seem real. They didn't seem like they were _his_.

Micah went on. "I thought my son could become a knight like me, marry and find happiness in a family and in service as I had. I was convinced that was his destiny. But I never saw my family as much as I wanted. Always travelling around, always training, always off to combat some new threat... And so when Rowan died... I realised. What if I'd doomed my son to a life he may not even have chosen?"

Otra joined his friend and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Link is my most dedicated student, my best fighter. If he didn't want this, he would have given up years ago."

"I've been trying to tell him this for a while. But I'm not the best talker, you know me. It comes out as orders. I'm too much a guard captain," Micah pushed off from the desk, crossing his arms over his chest. He wielded a shield and longsword, Link saw and had a crossbow at his hip. A crossbow! And one of finer make than Link's was. He almost cheered, and opened his mouth to ask, _may I have a look?_ until he remembered that he could do no more than watch.

"As is your son now!" Otra grinned. "Captain of Princess Zelda's guard."

"But what if he could have been more? His first Hinox kill, for example," his father went on. "Most knights equip themselves with their best weapons and armour, purchase a few elixirs and leap headfirst into the battle, often coming back with some angry bruises and maybe a broken bone," His father's stern face brightened with a toothy smile. "Well, do you know how _my son_ decided to earn his knighthood, Otra?"

"Of course I do," The Battlemaster laughed.

 _I don't!_ Link wanted to shout. _Help me remember, please!_

His father revelled in telling the story regardless. "He didn't even wear armour. He took some rusty old swords from the armoury and found a Hinox that lived in Hyrule Ridge. He camped for almost a week waiting for a storm to come, and just before the thunder began, snuck his cache of metal swords to beast's side, and just... waited. Not a minute later, _boom_! Lightning struck right where he'd left the swords, and killed the Hinox like _that_ ," Micah clicked his fingers and burst into laughter. "My Link came away without a scratch!"

 _My Link. My son_. Link felt as though he could burst. He was someone's son.

"He's more cunning than the average knight, I'll give him that," Otra admitted. "Perhaps you can see now why he was chosen? Whatever he faces, he will not be brash. And fret not, my friend - we don't even know that the Sword will accept him."

Link saw a twinkle in his father's familiar sapphire eyes. "I know my son, Otra," he said decisively. "He will come back with that sword,"

Micah turned towards the window, looking out at the training yard below, and across time, father and son stood eye to eye. Link reached out, trying to grasp onto his father somehow. To make him whole, and here, and _alive_.

"Do you really think - is he happy, Otra?" Micah asked.

"I am, Father." Link said aloud. "I am," and somewhere within him, Link decided to believe that his father might have heard.

The Battlemaster just shrugged, and the old knight sighed. Link joined his father in gazing down at the training yard. If he held still… it almost felt real. Below knights in training were sparring, scuttling back and forth across the mud with their wooden swords in hand.

"Do you understand then, Link?" Zelda said, shattering the illusion. She crossed the room towards the window. "Your father sees what I see."

"That I could be more?"

Zelda nodded. Beside them, Micah continued to watch the training, while Otra had returned to his paperwork.

"Hyrule needs more than just fighters," Zelda explained. "It needs people - _whole_ people - with strength, and spirit, and cunning. I believe wholeheartedly that if I hold all three virtues, then you must as well, in your own way."

Link looked at his father and studied the lines on his ageing face. "The voice I've been hearing… it wasn't his."

Zelda cocked her head to the side. "Oh, really? Then whose?"

"A dozen voices, maybe mostly my own. But not _his_. My father wanted something different for me... And maybe I just remembered it wrong," Link reached down and took Zelda's hand in his own, bringing it to his lips. " _You_ found this, didn't you? To help me?"

She held his hand tight. "Of course. I'd do anything if it meant you could be happy, Link. It's the only thing I've _always_ wanted, from before to now."

Link kissed her hand; once, twice, wanting to bundle her up and never let go, soon finding that he was smiling from ear to ear. "Thank you for showing me this, Zel," he said warmly. An old idea was stirring in his mind once more; it seemed now he had the confidence to chase it. "I think... I think I know what to do now."

Zelda allowed him one last look at his father, and his teacher, and with their hands entwined once again, she took them both home.

* * *

Once he was sure of his plan, Link told it to Zelda as though proposing a trade deal. She promised to divulge it to no one; he wanted to be the first to tell their allies back at the Castle.

"I think it's a good plan," Zelda assured him. That was all Link needed to hear; her approval solidified his intent, and he stood taller and smiled brighter than she had seen all summer.

It had been nothing short of blissful, being on the road with Link once more. Their days had been spent at ease; walking, and talking, or not talking at all, pointing out interesting sights and landmarks, rare flowers and Bokoblin camps, some still inhabited. They fell into a rhythm that bordered on domestic. Zelda could not remember a time when she _hadn't_ awoken in Link's arms, or when she . His presence was inherent now; they ate together, travelled together, slept and even trained together. Zelda's aim soon rivalled even Link's, and he jeered that she had an unfair advantage by wielding a Rito bow, so she proved her ability by challenging him to an archery contest - using only his _crossbow_. When she shot twice as many bullseyes as he did, Link at last conceded that she had a talent, and a good eye.

"Not just one, but two, and the most beautiful I've ever seen," he crooned.

She gave him a playful shove and chided, "You had better be talking about my _eyes_."

They returned to Hyrule Castle at the end of Summer to find it a bustle of activity; Hudson and had knocked down the old structures of Castle Town and were marking out the plots for the new builds. Rito couriers and traders were coming and going from all directions, Hyrule Castle having become a favourite pit stop in their travels. And curious travellers were beginning to flock to their gates, having learnt that it was finally safe to explore the once harrowing Castle Grounds. A new stable had even been built outside Castle Town, the horse head effigy a fond and familiar sight on the horizon.

When they passed through the gates, Link and Zelda found they were not the only ones arriving at the Castle. Lady Larella was visiting on a short diplomatic trip from Zora's Domain. They greeted her friends with laughter and stories of the road, stopping by the Gatehouse to keep out of the way.

"How are the repairs going?" The Ambassador asked, passing her wide yellow eyes over the Castle with a sad smile.

"Here? Slowly," Zelda said, though it was easy to remain optimistic. "But the first of the work is always slow. Any news from the Domain?"

Larella laughed nervously. "Oh, no. Sidon is Sidon, and even with a new King, the Zora change so little," she threaded a fretting hand along one of her jewels, sighing, "You know, it's almost mundane."

After a welcome, warm supper and a happy reunion with Teba and his family, Zelda helped Link gather their closest allies - Teba, Larella and Inglis - into her father's old study to make the announcement. He stood before them with his hands at his back and told them his plan in full, not one to waste words.

"You're going to Akkala!?" Inglis exclaimed once Link was done. He was positively buzzing at the prospect, his face full and bright. "For how long?"

"As long as it takes," Link said plainly. "The Citadel was the stronghold of the Hylian Knights, but it was a settlement too. There is much to rebuild there."

"Such as the Order," Teba surmised.

Link nodded, impressed at the warrior's savvy. "As you say. I'm the last Knight of Hyrule," he looked to Inglis, singling him out with his eyes. "But who knows for how much longer?"

The Akkalan's mouth fell open, and he brought a finger to his chest. "You want _me_ in your order…?"

"You're quick and strong, and I could use someone who knows the land well," Link had told Zelda that he was not sure if his friend would say yes to the proposal - becoming a Knight was no small commitment, and Link recalled Inglis' disdain for the way Cinelgen kept him under his thumb, calling him his _squire_. "Only if you want to," Link said.

But Inglis' acceptance was immediate. He threw his arms wide and pulled Link into a strong embrace. "Of course!" he grinned. "Say the word, Link, and I'll be there with you."

"But _why_ Akkala? Why not here?" Larella interjected the first to be sceptical. She seemed perturbed by Link's plan, shifting and fidgeting when Link mentioned the Castle repairs.

"Because Akkala is also where Robbie lives, and I'd like to seek him out."

Larella pressed further. "The researcher? Why?"

Turning and sweeping an arm in front of the desk behind him, Link gestured to the trio of items he'd put on display - the crossbow, his journal, and the Sheikah Slate. "I was a fighter all my life, and someone dear to me convinced me I could be more." Surreptitiously, his eyes met Zelda's, and he flashed her an affectionate smile. "And Robbie is an engineer as well as a scholar - so I'd like to take up an apprenticeship with him. Hudson is a decent builder, but the repairs needed here are on an entirely different scale. And even though we've lost the Sheikah technology, I believe there's so much more we haven't discovered."

Teba turned to Zelda. "And you agree with this? He could be away for months, _years._ "

"And what will I be? A pining princess in her castle?" she laughed and shook her head. "I've spent enough time like that. Of course, I agree. We can choose to work apart-"

"-just as we chose to work together," Link finished. There was a certainty between them then, and it felt like fate. Not a great change in the order of things, but a return, and continuation. Zelda took the Sheikah Slate from the desk and handed it to Link.

"You have my blessing," she told him, speaking the words as a command. "Go, and bring prosperity to Hyrule."

* * *

Preparations for the trip to Akkala were underway immediately. Link would travel east with Inglis, and then north past Lanayru, carrying a Royal decree to re-establish the order of Hylian knights.

One week before he was set to depart, Zelda took him to Kakariko, citing urgent business with Impa. It would only be a day's worth of travel she assured him, and it would afford him a chance to see Rhoamet once more. _For good luck_ , she added, though Link needed little convincing.

The Guardian sat undisturbed in the graveyard of the Sheikah village, his ancient body gathering moss. Link mournfully placed a hand on the Guardian's husk, tracing the ornate swirls and patterns. "How are you going, buddy?" he asked quietly. "Enjoying the rest?"

He sniffed, fighting down tears, breathing heavily as he wiped his eyes dry. Zelda had been back and forth on her decision for weeks. It had come to her in the days after showing Link, the memory of his father, and she knew perhaps it was a bad decision. That she might regret it, or that the other races of Hyrule would disapprove. But seeing Link's sorrow - how could she deny him this kindness?

"Link," she said sweetly. "There's something I never told you,"

He peered back at her but said nothing, and so she went to his side, and they stood together by Rhoamet's shell as a light rain began to fall.

"When I was with the Rito, Kass was the only one who believed my story, at first."

Still, Link remained silent, but he nodded in understanding.

"He sang me a song," she continued - that made Link turn to face her at last. "He told me the same story he told you. The story of the Hero and the Princess."

Carefully, she began to remove the glove on her right hand. "Kass thought my powers were driven by _you_ ; that you and I are bound together, that I _must_ use my abilities in tandem with yours. But I don't think he has the whole picture." She looked towards Rhoamet. "It's like you said - we work together because we choose to."

Holding a hand to the Guardian's cold, ceramic shell, Zelda felt the power in her palm respond. She could feel the warmth building on her skin. "Even so, I have used these powers out of love, many times. But now that we are safe, I can feel them receding. So I have one last wish to use - could I really let you go study with _Robbie_ without your Guardian?"

Link spoke at once, "Zelda, no, you don't-" His words came out as stammers. "H-he could be...could be vulnerable."

She cupped her hand to his cheek to quiet him. "He won't be powered in the same way as before. His core will be silent. But if Kass is right, and my powers really do come from a place of love - then Rhoamet will be incorruptible,"

"You don't have to-"

"Shh, Link. Don't let him see you frown," she chided gently. "Don't you want him to wake to see his master's face and the joy that he brings you?"

Slowly, as she fed her power to him, the Guardian began to stir, his body radiating a soft blue glow. And then he was awake, his single eye unmoving as he beheld them. Slowly, he began to blink. The same repeated pattern, over and over; ● ▬ ● ●, ● ▬ ● ●

 _Link_

"He's saying my name," Link gasped. And then he cheered. "He's _saying my name_! Aren't you!? Oh, you're so _smart_!"

Link leapt onto the Guardian, wrapping his arms around its bulky head. The automaton stumbled backwards under Link's weight. "Hey buddy," Link beamed. "Remember me?"

Rhoamet blinked happily, and spun around, drawing a startled cry from Link, followed by peals of laughter. Link leapt down from the Guardian, and raced towards Zelda, sweeping her into his own spinning embrace and giving her a rapturous kiss.

"I love you," he said, the words so rich she felt them. "More than anything, you know that?"

Zelda could do nothing but giggle and kiss him again, in a way that said, _of course,_ and _I know_ , and _I do too_. But she could not speak. The joy had caught her tongue. Between kisses, Link passed a glance back at Rhoamet, and Zelda sighed.

"Go on then," she said as rolled her eyes, but Link did not tear himself away. Instead, he offered out a hand and helped her climb onto Rhoamet's shell.

"We'll go together," Link said, directing Rhoamet carry them back to the Castle, and Zelda was happy to let them lead.

* * *

The town had been transformed. Three rows of tables fifty feet long were laid out in the ruins, and were packed with all manner of food from all across Hyrule; salted fish from Lanayru, char-grilled meat from Eldin, fruits of all kinds and cakes in every colour, spiced dishes from Gerudo that could be hot like fire or cool as ice, and a stew for every season from Hebra. A banner had been hoisted between the old gates, _Farewell, Master Link!_ painted on the canvas. And all through the town, blue and white lanterns signified the importance of the celebration, the reason why half the Kingdom had come to the Castle; it was not just Link's going away, it was _Champion Day_.

Teba of Lake Totori leaned against a ruined wall, watching the celebration from a comfortable distance. He surveyed the feasters, and the dancers, confident that for now, all was well. Occasionally, he would glance to where his wife and son sat; they were looking at a lantern together. Teba whispered a prayer of thanks to the Goddess each time he beheld them.

As the night waned, he was joined away from the fray by Kass. The bard was carrying his accordion in arm as always and gave Teba a curt nod in greeting, before beginning to tap away at the keys. It was a tune Teba had not heard.

"New song?" he asked.

The bard paused and nodded. "Indeed. A new song for a new era."

"Given it a name?"

The bard shot him a knowing look. "Of course," he answered. " _The Trio_. The Princess, the Knight, and their loyal Guardian,"

Teba chuckled at the bard's wistful tone. "Wouldn't that be nice - immortalised in song? I haven't done much that's memorable, though."

"Ah - but a song is just a memory, my friend, captured and kept," Kass smiled, holding his accordion close. "To build a legend from nothing more than single moments."

"Living legends – that's definitely one way to describe those kids," Teba agreed. Among the fray, he could see them - Link and Zelda, hand in hand, dancing to some rambunctious, brassy number belted out by a band of Goron musicians. From this distance, they really did look like kids - youthful and carefree - perhaps for the first time since he'd met them. Their Guardian was sitting happily to the side, being doted on by some curious children.

Kass had returned to practising his new song - another waltz. The friends stood together in the fading light, surrounded by peace in a place that was finally beginning to feel like a home. Teba listened contentedly as Kass sung his song, and ushered in a new age for Hyrule.

* * *

 **A/N: And another thing - the epilogue will go up on Sunday afternoon/night! Thank you again everyone for your support. This work could not be what it is without you.**


	23. Epilogue

_It was a rare thing, home. Crossing the bridge to the cottage he shared with his family, Micah of Hateno Village counted each moment at home as a blessing. A trail of smoke was rising from the chimney of their little cottage house, and even before he reached the door, he could hear the footsteps of a precocious young child pounding on the floor, and smell the rich aroma of vegetable stew on the stove._

 _He heard a woman's voice call out - 'Look, little one' - and the footsteps stopped; the door burst open, and from it came running a child of six, with blonde hair and blue eyes._

" _Father!" the boy shouted, and Micah threw open his arms to catch his son, hauling him into the air, his ears soon filled with the sound of delighted squeals._

" _Look!" his son said, pulling up a sleeve and flexing his skinny little arm. "Just like you! We've been playing swords at school."_

 _Micah could not help but throw his head back and laugh. "Wonderful!" he praised. "You'll have big muscles in no time."_

 _The boy grinned wide, revealing a missing front tooth, and wrapped his arms around Micah's neck for another hug. This was what made it worth it; the miserable days of travel in the rain and snow, the hours of training, the political intrigue at the Castle and the loneliness of being so far from home so often. This child and this home were the antidotes to laboured life Micah led._

" _Let your father go, Link!" Micah's wife came next, wiping her hands on her apron as she shuffled out into the yard. "You'll strangle him."_

 _She was unchanged in the months they had been apart; blonde hair neatly braided from her face, freckled skin gathering wrinkles. No matter how many times he saw her, Micah still felt a rush of calm when upon seeing her face, and it brought a sense of belonging and ease that nothing else gave him._

" _It's fine, Rowan, he's not that strong yet," Micah said, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek when she approached._

" _But he_ is _stubborn," Rowan replied, giving Link a gentle pinch on the shoulder. The boy winced and whined, which only made Rowan laugh. She pointed to the house, "Run along now. Go show your father your wooden sword."_

 _Link did as he was told, leaping to the ground and running into the house, the dirt powdering behind his boots as he went. When Micah looked back to Rowan, her face had hardened. "How long this time?" she asked._

 _He shot out a hand to catch her arm, anticipating what her reaction would be to his words._

" _I can only stay a few days," he said, and she frowned, turning to walk back into the house. Micah chased after her. "Hey - I'm sorry, Rowan, hey-" She stopped, folding her arms indignantly._

" _Have you thought any more about coming to the Castle?" Micah ventured._

" _And put more ideas in Link's head about being a fearless warrior?" his wife scoffed. It was a familiar argument, one it seemed they would step through once more. Rowan pulled herself free of his grip. "Micah, he's a child-"_

" _He's the son of a Knight," Micah argued._

" _And the son of a teacher," his wife straightened her apron, fussing - an old habit when she was annoyed, Micah knew. "I understand, I do…_ We _live this life, but it isn't the only life."_

 _There was truth to her words, but Micah did not like to consider them. "I know that," he said sternly._

" _Then you must understand!"_

" _And I do! You-"_

 _There was a sniffle at the door. Link had returned, clutching the little wooden sword in hand. His blue eyes were huge against his soft face, glassy with tears - two deep pools of open waters, so clear that Micah could almost see his reflection in them._

" _You were fighting about me," he whimpered._

 _Both parents relented at once. Micah knelt, and outstretched his arms, while Rowan sighed, her stony expression giving way to concern._

" _Come here, little one," she urged their son. "We weren't fighting, really."_

 _Link trotted over to his father and allowed himself to be picked up once again. Calling a truce between himself and his wife, Micah wrapped an arm around Link and Rowan both._

" _We're here together, isn't that wonderful?" he told them and was glad to see a weak smile on Rowan's face. Micah nodded to Link's sword, filled with pride at the sight of it. "And look at that! You hold it like a natural - you'll be a great swordsman someday!"_

* * *

Aurelia closed her eyes and breathed in the ocean air. There was something sad about Akkala. So plain and desolate and isolated, but beautiful too. It was a world away from the desert, but not too dissimilar. It would be what her people needed.

 _Her_ people. In earnest. Some called her Master. Some called her Chief. She told them Aurelia would do.

Some traditions kept. Some traditions lost. The Yiga would not cast their sickles aside, but now they used them to cut grass and cultivate crops that did not grow in the desert. They kept their tattoos, though their masks were gone. And gradually the apprehension faded, both towards others and themselves. The people of the Citadel became their people too. Soon the Yiga would be ready to strike out on their own; to found a new village somewhere in deep Akkala. There she would find peace, at last, she hoped.

But in the meantime, they lived at the Citadel. A place full of surprises. Every week a new level was discovered, or a new hall. Her sister Hana saw the size of one of the kitchens deep within the Citadel and half wept with happiness. She spent all Summer baking and cooking and had half the young men there in love with her for that alone. Though none tried anything; they were too afraid of Aurelia, which she did not mind.

Another surprise had come in the autumn; namely, the Champion Link, travelling without his partner. He had come to this part of the world to study under a Sheikah researcher, and to train the first Knights of the new order. The Akkalan Inglis accompanied him, and soon came a motley of impressionable Hylians after them, two of which were Sheikah. Aurelia recognised one of them - the tattooed girl whose life she had saved in that hidden village. Paya was her name, and she had come to visit one of her people, a Sheikah boy raised in Akkala she said, who was to train with Link at the Citadel. Link offered for Aurelia to join this new order, and though she declined, she was glad to have training partners again who had some level of skill.

Link was a beast in his own right; even without that fancy sword of his. It was his speed that surprised Aurelia the most. _You could have been Yiga_ , she told him, to which he said nothing, only laughed high and wild into the Akkalan dusk. Inglis, on the other hand, was a brute to spar with, relying on his strength alone. Cinelgen's mark. Aurelia soon beat the habit out of him after the twentieth time or so that she tripped him. Once he lay on the grass after falling and smiled up at her some radiant, and for a moment she considered helping him stand. She would never admit it, but Aurelia was glad to see the Akkalan again. Inglis was the only one who could remember, or understand, the things that she remembered - the harshness of life in the desert, the day of the Karusa massacre, the day she had lost her eye. A few small threads of shared existence and pain; and those were so rare in a place so sparse.

"I'm going to the eastern beaches tomorrow," she told him one morning, as they walked to the nearby plains for training. "I want to see where the world ends."

"Build yourself a boat then, Aury," Inglis teased, a sly smile on his face.

She ignored the taunt, and stopped, taking his hand into hers. He almost snatched it away, but she held firm. The world had made her fight for everything she had; she could fight for Inglis.

"Why don't you come with me?" she said with a sincerity that surprised even her, "Let us just be friends, for once, Inglis."

"Friends…?" he repeated. His smile was gone.

"We've both had so few. It isn't...it isn't nice, being this lonely," Aurelia entwined their fingers, as on Inglis' face understanding - and guilt - dawned. Strange tears came then, from mourning that had been suspended. She felt Inglis' guilt in the strength of his embrace, the way he wrapped a steadying arm around her as if he would not let go.

"We are friends, Aurelia," he said softly. "Did you... ever talk to anyone about what happened to you? Your sister, and your…?" Inglis gestured to her eyepatch. Aurelia shook her head.

"Me neither," Inglis muttered. "About any of it. The _years_ of it. Sometimes I miss him, you know, but then I remember what he was like...I don't know how to feel."

Aurelia rested her head against his shoulder, letting the tears flow. She could smell the cotton of his shirt and pressed her face into the fabric. "I'm trying to be strong, for my people…"

Warmth enveloped her as Inglis held her close, and Aurelia hugged him tightly. She poured herself into the embrace, finding reprieve after standing for so long on her own. Inglis stooped his head and kissed her brow above her empty right eye.

"Tomorrow, we'll go down to the beach," he told her. "Talk and… collect shells, or whatever it is people do."

"Link won't mind if you run off?"

Inglis smiled and tongued a tooth, thinking for a moment. "Nah," he said. "Or maybe, I just won't tell him."

* * *

 _Dear King Sidon,_

 _It is with regret that I write to you again to inform you that I must again reject your proposal._

 _As much as I wish to return home, I made a promise to Zelda, and my efforts are best spent here, at Hyrule Castle. There is so much work to be done, and so much resting on her success. The Domain will always thrive, but Zelda needs my help now more than ever. Since I made my decision, I have not for a moment felt regret. By the Queen's side is where I belong, for now._

 _As you know, the Hylians do not live as long as us. Soon, the Queen and her future consort will be settled, and well into their lives. They will soon have no need for me. Then I will return, and sadly not before._

 _I will not ask you to wait. You are the King, and you must secure a future for your people. But know that I will always care for you, and love you dearly, for the kindness you have shown me._

 _I enjoyed visiting you during the Autumn. Perhaps, come Spring, you will visit me? Or perhaps I can convince Zelda to make a diplomatic mission to Zora's Domain. Though winter is upon us, the Queen has said she does not mind travelling through the snow._

 _Regardless, I believe in you, Sidon, as I know you believe in so many others. If you ever need any advice or assistance, you know how to reach me._

 _Yours faithfully,_

 _Larella,_

 _Chief Advisor to Queen Zelda of Hyrule_

* * *

The bubbles swirled in her glass as Buliara gave her hydromelon tea another stir. Leaning against a sun-warmed wall, she took a short sip, and then another, feeling the cool spread through her mouth. Even in the winter, the heat of Gerudo Desert did not relent.

Not that Buliara minded; the warm days were welcome. They kept Gerudo Town thriving. She placed her tea down on the table next to her, beside a second, still full glass.

"Lady Riju," Buliara called across the courtyard before her. "Come, the ice in your drink is melting."

The little Chief raised her head; she was playing with Patricia in the sand seal's pen, giggling and rolling through the sand.

"In a minute!" she called back, tossing a rope toy across the pen, clapping with delight as her sand seal raced after it.

Buliara's smile came unbidden; here, the matters of Gerudo Town could be left behind. Here Riju's only duty was to her sand seal and her own happiness.

Even so, duty remained. There was a tap on Buliara's shoulder. She turned to see a messenger, carrying a folded note.

After a short bow, the messenger quietly said, "Lady Buliara, is the Chief available? There's been a development at the Bridge, it's almost complete, and the builders thought the Chief should come see-"

"It can wait."

A moment of silence passed as the messenger processed Buliara's words. She regained herself, holding up the note. "With all due respect, my Lady, it-"

With a heavy sigh, Buliara pushed off the wall, curtly snatching the note from the messenger's hands. Across the pen, Riju had not noticed the visitor, too enamoured with adjusting one of Patricia's brightly coloured ribbons.

"What do you see there, before you?" Buliara asked the messenger, pointing to the little Chief.

With wide, uncertain eyes that feared to utter a misstep, the messenger replied, "L-lady Riju?"

"Not who, _what_?" Buliara pressed. "Don't say 'our Chief'. _What_ is she?"

At last, the messenger understood the meaning of the question. "A… a child?" she ventured.

"A _child_ ," Buliara affirmed. "Enjoying one of the few carefree moments she has in her day," She waved the messenger away and turned her attention back to Riju. "The Bridge can wait."

"Okay, Father, you can look now."

Teba opened his eyes, met with the vision of Tulin, holding out a small package, and Saki, her wingtips on their son's shoulder. For a moment, Teba did not see the package. He was still surprised to see the way he was Tulin now; the boy was a fledgeling no more, having grown nearly a foot since they had moved to Hyrule Castle nearly half a year prior. He was on the verge of earning his wings, and of all the progress being made in Hyrule, Teba was the proudest that.

Teba took the package and unwrapped the fabric to find - a pair of spectacles. They were wide-set, and long so that they could be tucked firmly into his feathers.

"You're kidding me," Teba laughed incredulously, picking up the glasses and peering through the lens. "Where did you find these?"

"A shop in Hateno," Saki answered.

The answer startled him. "During our visit?"

Saki laughed, "Yes, while you were off surveying that tunnel to Lanayru. Tulin and I did a little shopping. The man said he'd never made a pair for a Rito before."

Teba did not know what to say. Surely the spectacles would look ridiculous, though he couldn't help but feel curious. When he hesitated, Saki was there to help him; she picked up the spectacles and gingerly placed them upon his beak.

"Hylia be damned," the words fell from his beak. The world before him then was stunning. It was a revelation; everything was crisper, from the ends of his wingtips to the tallest towers of Hyrule Castle behind him. He looked back to his family, marvelling at how clear and vibrant they appeared before him.

"Well?" he asked.

"You look handsome," Saki crooned, adjusting the glasses slightly, so they sat straighter. "There. Very smart."

"Mother's right. It suits you, Dad," Tulin agreed.

Saki offered to seek out a mirror for him, but Teba did not need to see. If she and Tulin approved, then that was all he needed.

* * *

Yunobo left Goron City with little more than a pack, a bag of rupees, and a crude map of Hyrule. Where would he go? He wasn't sure. What would he do? It didn't matter. Well, he would do one thing; he would _see_. All that there was to see!

He hadn't even told Bludo. The boss wouldn't mind. There were plenty more Gorons. If he asked, Yunobo could just claim it was official royal duty. _I'm a Champion, after all!_

It was at the stables of Eldin, not even a day into his journey that Yunobo met the bard. He was the most colourful man Yunobo had ever seen; a Rito in green and red and blue and brown, carrying an accordion and singing a tune out the front of the Stables. When Yunobo stopped to listen, he realised that the bard was recounting the return of the Queen of Hyrule, and the adventures of her appointed Knight.

 _A Queen of Destiny. A Knight of Fate.  
The deeds they performed, nothing short of great._

Yunobo fetched a rupee from his pack and held it out to the bard.

"Many thanks, friend," the Rito smiled as he continued to play. "Are you headed into Hyrule? You should go see the Castle. I have heard many great stories of its restoration."

"I haven't really thought about it!" Yunobo admitted, adjusting his heavy pack. "Is that what you do? Collect stories?"

"Me? Ah, I'm more likely to tell them!" the Rito said, holding up his accordion.

Yunobo gasped in awe. "Telling stories…" he murmured, and then he frowned. "That must be hard."

"It isn't, my friend. All it takes is a belief in your tale," the bard hooked his accordion over his back. "Say, if you care to share the coin for some stew, I can tell you more about my trade."

Grinning from ear to ear, Yunobo agreed, sealing the trade with a firm handshake. _This_ was that feeling he knew existed; he'd heard it called fate. In a flash, he saw an imagined life in front of him. There were no mines, there was no smog. Only open air, and stories, and glowing faces listening as he spread the word of what he saw on the road. He fetched another rupee from his bag and gleefully handed it to the bard.

* * *

Zelda reread the Inglis' letter for what must have been the tenth time.

 _You remain his inspiration, Your Majesty._ _There are days when Link speaks of nothing and no one else._

It was what followed that she could not fathom, no matter how many times she read the words.

 _Robbie got so sick of Link's endless prattling about you that he granted us leave to visit Castle Town. Link was too busy packing to write, so I figured I had better._

The letter had arrived on a warm summer's morning, though there was a breeze in the air that told of the coming Autumn. Another year passed, two now since she had returned to Hyrule. How quickly time seemed to flow, like river water between her fingers.

The letter had been hand-delivered to Zelda by a jovial Rito courier, who had appeared a painted burst of colour as he soared in across the clear sky from the south. Zelda had been quietly hopeful that the letter would be from Link, walking with a unladylike urgency to meet the courier.

"An honour to make your acquaintance, Your Majesty," the Rito had said when she breathlessly met him at the Castle gates. The courier wouldn't hand her the parcel until he had bowed, and after he'd risen to his feet, he clicked his beak and put his wings to his waist, saying, "Never thought I'd live to see it. A Queen in Hyrule! I'll tell my fledgelings I was blessed to meet you, but they won't believe me!"

Zelda had reached into her purse and pressed a silver rupee into the Rito's grip, smiling slightly, as if sharing a secret.

"Some proof then. First round from the mint. New coin for a new era." The Rito had flown off grinning like a smitten youth, heart full and soul proud.

Zelda read the letter one last time, taking extra time to read Inglis' concluding line.

 _The healer said his leg is all healed now, so we should make good time. Best regards to all our friends at the Castle._

She pressed the letter to her chest, recalling the harrowing news; a rogue Moblin, one of the last left from the Calamity, had somehow crossed into the Citadel in the middle of the night. And Link, with no armour and nothing but a dagger for defence, had raced from his sleeping cell to confront the creature. It had been slain, but not before knocking Link to the ground, and breaking his leg. Another scar in the library they shared, one that told yet another tale of how he seemed to defy death at every turn.

Folding the letter carefully, Zelda returned it to a safe, hidden place within her desk. She donned her coat and walking boots, and prepared for her late afternoon stroll around Castle Town, taking a moment to check her braids and adjust the golden brooch she'd had made in Zora's Domain during her last visit. It was the crest of Hyrule in miniature, a wide-winged bird beholding the Three - a trio of triangles like the mark on her hand.

A week had passed since the letter's arrival, and yet there was still no sign of Link. But Zelda knew that a heavy heart was best saved for the truth and depth of grief, not for the lovesick pining and the sulking loneliness that she now felt. _He has his duties, and I have mine._

It didn't make her miss him any less.

As she walked through the town, Zelda marvelled at the progress that had been made. A year had passed since her ascension, and that terrible day when she had shut down the Divine Beasts. Each beast sat in its respective positions, silent guardians now little more than stone. _One day_ , Zelda knew. _When we are ready, I will wake you._ Looking down at her hands, Zelda paused for a moment to look at where the golden mark once was. She had returned the Three to the Other Place, knowing that her power would be safe there. Should she need it back, she knew where the Master Sword was resting. How that strange place shone once, she left the Three on the glass pedestal.

"It is as it once was, yet again," the hooded woman had said. "You and I have no more need of each other."

Zelda has asked the woman her identity in truth, but all she did was smile, and say, "Go, and bring peace to Hyrule."

On the south side of Castle Town, Chief Advisor Larella met Zelda on her way from the Castle with plans and papers spilling from her arms, gleefully announcing that the repairs were now exactly halfway done and that they would be ready to accept more residents soon.

"And are you quite sure you don't need an escort, Zelda?" Larella added.

Zelda laughed, and said with a small bow of her head, "Not anymore, but thank you."

The air smelled of fresh bread from a nearby bakery. Chatter filled the air, a dozen conversations that Zelda could only half hear wafting past. A little Hylian girl burst out from behind her, chased through the street by a grinning young boy, their red-faced and exhausted mother hot-footing after them. Zelda passed a pair of construction workers enjoying a break, their raucous laughter rippling between the newly-built cottages. Smoke was rising from the homes and shops, morning fires set to drive away the lingering cold. _This is a town_ , Zelda thought. _A town with people, a town with life._

The townsfolk that she passed either bowed or curtseyed, _Good morning, my Queen_ on all of their lips. Zelda nodded back, realising that now, for the first time in years, she did not mind the title, or what it meant.

At the town gates, she found Teba and Tulin. They both bowed, but she laughed, and bid them rise.

"You have your wings, Tulin!" she said when she saw the feathered pauldrons Tulin wore on his shoulders.

"I made them myself," Tulin said proudly, running his wingtips over the feathers.

To celebrate the occasion, Zelda reached into her purse, pulling out a small silver rupee.

"There you are," she said. "Buy something your father wouldn't want you to," and before Teba could protest, Zelda hurried away from the gates to the sounds of Tulin's laughter.

New coins. New age. New Queen. Zelda had donned the dress, had worn the jewels, and had held the golden sceptre in her right hand and the shining white sword in the other. A gallery of her supporters of every race had gathered to see. And the four new Champions of Hyrule had all proclaimed her their ruler. But it was not until Link sought her at the feast afterwards, and not until he had addressed her as 'my Queen _'_ did Zelda _feel_ like a regent. She had dismissed him, _no need for formality_ – but in rich defiance Link had taken her hand in his, and kissed the golden rings on her fingers, whispering the words again;

"But that's what you are, my Queen."

 _His_ Queen. Both to rule and be ruled. It had given her a thrill, a rolling rap against her chest as if her heart were the drum and his voice the batons. More thrill than a single one of her duties so far. _I am his Queen, and he is my Knight_. But it was simpler than that now. More elegant. Something that could withstand time, and distance, and the suddenness of their changing Kingdom; _we belong together. And together, we belong._

But they were not together. Hyrule did not end at the walls of Castle Town. There were the villages, the travellers, the outposts, the ruins. All of it could be rebuilt. All of it could be what it was, _more_ than what it was.

New Kingdom. New places. New purpose. Word of Link's near endeavour as the founder of the new Hylian Order of Knights was always positive. Though _Hylian_ was not the right term. Link decided that _his_ order would include everyone - Hylian, Rito, Goron, Geruo and Zora. Anyone who wanted to help protect the Kingdom would not be turned away. At last report, there were five knights-in-training at the Citadel. Link had rounded up all three Akkalans - Inglis, Grante, and Nell - as well as the Yiga woman Aurelia, and a Rito too.

Apparently, a small group of Zora were making their way to Akkala to train as well. Unprecedented! Hylian Knights who were not Hylian? _Preposterous,_ as Zelda's father would say. But many things were preposterous; many things were unprecedented. Ganon's return? Unprecedented. The possession of the Divine Beasts? Unprecedented. An age of burning fields? Unprecedented. And the return of the Hylian Princess, now ruling as Queen, the first after a long, long line of Kings with big ambitions and little sense? _Unprecedented._

And a Queen travelling without an escort? Perhaps that was unprecedented as well, and maybe reckless too. Zelda walked alone to the Sacred Grounds all the same. When her longing for Link became too much, this is where she found herself; the grounds where Link had first been formally inducted into her service. When she needed to think, to solve a problem, or just to feel some clarity and peace, she would do what Link would do; she would _start again_ , coming to where their story together had begun. Zelda closed her eyes, knelt at the centre of the grounds and bowed her head in silent prayer to the Goddesses. There was nothing to ask of them. Hyrule's fate could never be altered, but its fortunes could be savoured.

"Thought you'd be sick of prayer by now."

His voice was both otherworldly and all too familiar. Zelda leapt to her feet, spinning on her heel, cautious not to get her hopes up. But there he was. Dressed in plain traveller's clothes, leading his horse on foot, with a longsword strapped to his back and his Sheikah Slate at his belt; her appointed knight. Well, appointed no longer - he was hers of his own volition, she knew - but a knight all the same. And of course, ever at his side, an ancient automaton; his Guardian, Rhoamet, who Zelda was pleased to see now had six legs again. _Robbie's doing,_ she noted.

"I think I'm just immune to its effects, good and bad," Zelda said, and Link flashed her a wry smile. "And what about you, what brings you here?"

Link shrugged. "Legend speaks of a princess, carrying the blood of the Goddess. Decided I might come see her for myself."

"You'll find no goddesses here," Zelda laughed.

Link's eyes never left hers. "I think I might if my sight is clear."

To keep from blushing, she changed the subject. Adjusting her braids with an air of deliberate casualness, she asked, "How are your students?"

"Keen, if a little clumsy. Inglis is a force of his own now that he knows how to wield a sword proper. They've headed straight into town."

She waved to Rhoamet. "And this one?"

Link reached up and gave Rhoamet an affectionate pat on his shell. "Chugging along, aren't you buddy? We've been using him to educate people about the Calamity. So few know that these guys were once _good_ ," Link looked to the Castle walls. "What about you? How's it all going?"

"Flawlessly, actually," Zelda teased. "In your absence."

"Oh really? I'll go, then," He looked up at Rhoamet and raised a thumb over his shoulder. The automaton whirred, large head turning back towards the path away from the Sacred Grounds, and Zelda felt herself surging forward, shaking legs carrying her to his side.

" _Link_ ," she called, and then she sighed, worn down by how much she needed him. "I missed you."

Link brought Rhoamet to a halt with a gentle tap on his shell, and his gentle blue eyes appraised her with a mixture of amusement and adoration.

"I missed you too, Zel," he smiled, reaching up to brush a wisp of hair from her face.

Zelda could hold herself back no longer. She threw her arms around him, taking in his warmth, and the way he smelled of rain, and the wind, and the open air. He was wheezing against her tight grip, and laughing too, and soon they were both laughing together. Link pulled away, a hand finding and cupping her cheek.

"I missed this too," he chuckled.

The words were hardly more than a whisper. Link had her bewitched, so much so that Zelda would make demands she knew would go unfulfilled. "Then _stay_."

He drew back, folding his arms and chewing his lip. "Soon, I promise. I want to come back too, but I can't just ask Robbie to travel halfway across the world. We finally made a breakthrough with the bombs for the mountain tunnel-"

"I know, I know, I just… I know how precious time is," Zelda didn't want to bicker now - this argument had been played out on repeat in their letters. "You're here now. _We're_ both here." Zelda wrapped a hand around his and began to lead him towards the town. "Let's make the most of that."

Link held firm, pulling her back in. He caught her lips in a daring kiss that became a frenzy, needing and hungry, as they traded their relief and excitement between themselves, the whole thing soon devolving into another round of giggles. Hands still intertwined, Link was the first to speak.

"I'm not afraid, you know," Link said suddenly. "Of time, I mean."

Zelda blinked at him, and so he clarified, "Ever since you told me about that eternal cycle, and all the lives we've lived, I'm not afraid," he shrugged. "Another year apart, two; we'll see each other again. Might not be the same me or the same you but - I know I'll see you soon."

 _Soon._ Zelda recalled what she had seen; all of the lives she and Link had lived. The hooded woman had called them _infinite_. Link was right; there would always be a Princess, and always a Hero. It was a strange comfort, knowing that death was not the end but the start of a cycle anew.

"I understand," she said, raising a hand to cup his cheek. "Though I still wish...just promise me you will come back, _soon_."

"Soon," Link repeated. "As soon as I can. I'm tired of the rain in Akkala, and Inglis isn't nearly as nice to look at as you are."

" _Link_!" she hissed, sputtering a laugh as she reached up to knuckle his shoulder. She was about to scold him some more, when, out the corner of her eye, she saw it; a happening at the Castle; the appearance of a dozen blue and white lights, appearing one by one. They were the commemorative lanterns, lit to honour the fallen of the Calamity, and celebrate the heroes who ended it.

" _Champion's day,_ " Link smiled. "It's tomorrow isn't it?"

Zelda could not take her eyes off the lights. "Indeed," she murmured. "You were just on time as usual."

"Could have been worse - could have been a hundred _years_ late."

New days. New light. Old habits. Zelda rolled her eyes, but could not hold back her smile. She would wait a hundred years if she had to, for him. Five hundred. She would do it all over again, live all the pain and the loss and the hardship if it meant a life with him. She knew without reservation that he would do the same.

Zelda took his hand once more. "Come on then, wisecracker, let's go. There's a feast starting soon, and I need to give the blessing."

"Lead the way, Zel," Link said, gesturing for Rhoamet to follow. "I go where you go."

In the far west, the Sun was almost set - and the blue and white lanterns all across Hyrule Castle shone like stars. They twinkled and flickered. No single light was particularly strong, but together they made a symphony - of memories from the past, and hope for the future.

Hand in hand, with their Guardian faithfully at their backs, Link and Zelda left the Sacred Grounds and returned to the Castle that was once again their home.

* * *

 **A/N** : So that's it for FTGU! I will be writing a longer Author's note that will be posted as Ch 24. This will explain some of the key themes, ideas, lore and characterisations that went into this fic. Thank you so, so, so much to everyone for your incredible reviews. Your support has been immense, and something I always look forward to when a new chapter updates. The author's note will also detail my future plans for writing and for TLOZ


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